I woke up early to get ready to head out the door for my 20 mile training run
and got these texts just before I left...
The first lines from this song "You are my God" came to me as I first started running and praying for you in the hospital in the first few miles:
Breathe in breathe out
That's all that I can do now
Hold on somehow
My world has come crashing down
And I cannot understand
How this could be your heart
Still I'm lifting trembling hands
Help me trust in who you are
You are my God
Here in the darkness in the night
You have never left my side
You are my God
Even when I can't see your face
I know I'm held in your embrace
You are my God
I'm weak I'm torn
My tears like rain fall to the floor
But peace my lord
You have whispered in this storm
And this is still your plan
That you would have my heart
Help me rest in who you are
Where else can I go
And who else can I turn too
Your word is eternal life
And I'm not letting go
I'm holding on to you
Greater than all the world combined
Let everything else be left behind
You are my God
I long to be lost in your embrace
I'm turning my eyes up to your face
You are my God
I was simply starting to pray that in this day that you both would be able to breathe out and breathe in one breath at a time knowing that a lot is ahead today...
sun shadows on the Bay Bridge
selfie at 7:30 am
Right at 8 am, I stopped to take this picture of my watch and my phone as I knew you told me that around 11 am your time (eastern time which was 8 am pacific time)
that the lungs would be coming from the donor.
The chorus of this song that we sang at our church in Knoxville
kept going through my mind:
God of mercy, hold us in love.
1. In peace, in peace, we pray to you:
2. For peace and salvation, we pray to you:
3. For peace between nations, for peace between peoples:
4. For us who are gathered to worship and praise you:
5. For all of your servants who live out your gospel:
6. For all those who govern, that justice might guide them:
7. For all those who labor in service to others:
8. Grant weather that nourishes all of creation:
9. Keep watch on our loved ones and keep us from danger:
10. For all the beloved who rest in your mercy:
Help us comfort us, all of our days:
Keep us hold us, gracious God.
I think that long runs have a lot of space and time for repetition and so I kept praying, "God of mercy, hold Abby and Jens in your love..."
and this is just comic relief that I had to send you...
After running over the bay bridge, I ran over to Merritt Lake where they have Fairyland in Oakland (apparently, this is where Walt Disney got his inspiration for Disneyland)
another really cheesy selfie just to give you some more comic relief
a lamp to light the way around the lake...
I also ran by a labyrinth by an Episcopal church on the way back to my brother's apartment.
"Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love."
Caroline Adams
Caroline Adams
We are all on the path... exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path.
A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
A labyrinth is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life's journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to "That Which Is Within."
Labyrinths and mazes have often been confused. When most people hear of a labyrinth they think of a maze. A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, and blind alleys. It is a left brain task that requires logical, sequential, analytical activity to find the correct path into the maze and out.
A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again.
A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are. http://www.lessons4living.com/labyrinth.htm
This is something I came across a few months ago that also referred to labyrinths:
Pilgrimage by Wilma Wagenaar
High windows and walls, whispering silence, welcoming light – we have arrived.
Our journey takes us over the motorway, through the suburbs of Tilburg, deeper and deeper into Brabant’s countryside. Under a viaduct we go, over a small bridge, along a country road, through the convent gate. Across garden paths, via long tiled corridors, we eventually enter the heart of the Saint Joseph Chapel, the sacred space where the life of prayer of the Trappist monks of the abbey of Koningshoeven runs its course.
On the wooden floor, polished by generations of devout feet, lies a labyrinth of chamomile and bedstraw, picked by hand, carefully arranged in curving ledges and lines. The labyrinth symbolizes the road the pilgrim must travel. In medieval devotion it was an instrument of meditation and prayer. The distance to the centre seems short, but the path towards it is full of bends and turns. At one moment we may be close to the heart of the maze, then again we move away from it. Our eventual arrival is certain, if only we persevere. But we need this process of detours to strengthen our faith in our life’s goal and deepen our commitment. We do not get discouraged when we see that close to the end we are given yet another length to cover, but trust that this extra stretch will also bring us extra grace.
The fragrance of the herbs is strong and earthy – the scent of verges and fields in summertime. Yet the elusiveness of that scent is a symbol for the invisible that is absolutely, inescapably, present.
The location for this work is well chosen. The installation would not have worked as well in a business or museum environment. But here it enters into a dialogue with the surrounding Saint Joseph Chapel: travelling through the labyrinth, roaming through life, the pilgrims may know heaven close, their path part of a universe created and directed by God.
Psalm 121 wells up: ‘From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.’
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I think it was meant to be that I saw a labyrinth towards the end of my run as it is symbolic of the twists and turns along the way for you two over the last few years... I sensed the Spirit saying.... "Persevere. Press On... Don't get discouraged."
There is momentum, adrenaline, and movement today...
I'll continue to be one of your biggest cheerleaders as the journey continues.
Hope some of this resonates this morning... Know that you all were tied up in my shoelaces today and I will keep asking the God of mercy to hold you in His love...
got this picture on Facebook when I got back to my brother's apartment after my run this morning
know that I am continuing to hold you two close today....
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