Learning Lament, by Raynna Myers I stood at the forest’s edge Then I unshod my feet I found there The ground was soft The air’s scent was sweet I entered I Iooked up, into the fir trees Let their leaves dripping rain Roll over my forehead Anoint me I heard there a whisper Come close and listen Let moss surround you Look at the tree’s wrinkles And its beard move.. Read More
If there is a thing or two I’ve hoped to become re-enchanted with over my blogging years it is the way truth rises and returns like the tide. When the rhythm of truth has risen within my world there are times I have lost sight of wonder and rather been at odds, other times I’ve tried to be numb. It can seem a thing to savor to learn how to.. Read More
“Of all the paths in life you take, make sure a few of them are dirt.” -John Muir It’s easiest to feel compelled by these words when we’re out adventuring. Dusty dirt seems just right when summiting a mountain peak on a misty morning or even meandering on a sandy shoreline in the dark of night waiting for the excitement of a new moon to appear. Our souls sigh contentedly.. Read More
When summer was new and beginning here in Washington, we would walk along the river’s rocky shore and often comment to one another how we are firmly walking where so briefly ago there were waters raging so deeply and fiercely that it would be over our heads—literally. There were times this reality was so felt my body would momentarily shiver from the remembered force that would have swept us, all,.. Read More
Friends, can we talk about those days when we sincerely wonder if we’re falling off the wagon? I remember the day all the mean words people at the grocery store said about all the kids I had born into this world finally hit me different. I had never liked it but it had rolled off before. But this day — this day it all hit a spot in me that.. Read More
Sometimes the more you say or hear a word the more foreign it becomes. Sometimes the more greasy, from handling, a concept gets the harder it is to get a grasp. I think joy can be like that, which is really sad because…joy. I’ve been thinking on a particular string of words most of this week, the joy of Jesus. I learned of an old song by one of my.. Read More
We spilled out our heart, it got shoved back. We spilled out. Though beautiful, we were not seen. I…I took it back before there was a chance to be rejected again. I decided to keep my heart to myself. And, so the pattern goes. The truth is, I have often spilled in the wrong places, the wrong times. Being authentic doesn’t always mean entrusting fragile parts of ourselves to just.. Read More
Five months ago, when we first transplanted our family of eight from the Midwest to our new home in the Pacific Northwest, we would see deer families seeming to play tag in our field many days. Tag! It was such a surprise. And, gorgeous Stellar Jays, five or six at a time, would flock to and seem to be playing hide-n-seek in the magnolia trees. It didn’t occur to me.. Read More
When I got married I wanted to dance. I don’t mean I was so in love that I felt like dancing. I mean there was that too. But, really I wanted dance to literally be a part of our ceremony. Or, at least, afterwards? I had grand schemes, all locked away in my mind. For several reasons none of this occurred, but there was a woman I knew who did dance. So.. Read More
Beneath undesired circumstances I was given an opportunity to make a choice. I have chosen to believe that to simply be alive is holy. I choose this, not without a struggle today and maybe again tomorrow. But eventually this will get clearer, I know that because it already has, but not how I thought it would, not the way I expected. A Story A few weeks ago, I asked a.. Read More