A Walk Around the Avondale Lake (aka the "duck pond")

I grew up spending lots of time in Avondale Estates in Georgia because that's where my grandmother Meemo lived in her 1940s home. My mom and my aunt were raise there and both of them graduated from Avondale High School.

When I visited Meemo, we would either walk the short distance from her home on Kensington Road to the lake/pond or we might drive there if we were already "out and about". 

My memories of that place were that it was always a peaceful place to visit. I remembered the swings, the ducks, the turtles. 

My aunt got married there in the 70s.

Yesterday I wanted to visit before leaving town from my week long CEU (continuing education) course in Spiritual Direction at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA.

I got there, parked, got out and took a deep breath in. There were people sitting on the benches and walking with their dogs. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze.

I began my walk, slowly around the water. The path is crushed gravel these days, with paving stones to mark the path. As I began my walk, I noticed a fish at the edge of the water and a couple of turtles. I would see many more turtles on the edges.

The path offered both shade and sun.

More than that, it offered me the opportunity to give thanks for the many times I had been there before, to reflect on memories with my grandmother and my aunt's wedding (okay-- all I really remember is picking up plastic champagne corks with my younger aunt-- we had fun with that). 

As I slowly walked around the water, I allowed memories and a week full of learning and experiences to settle into my heart, mind, soul, and body.

As I came to the first swing on the right, it struck me that these swings were still there. Oh, my. I remembered these swings. Then, I noticed that the small child being held was waving at me. I stopped and waved back. The woman said to the child in English first-- say hello. Then in Spanish, the same. So I asked if the child spoke Spanish (in Spanish). What followed was a lovely (for me) conversation in Spanish with the woman about the pond and how I learned Spanish and other things. I got to speak my 2nd language, my heart language. She told me she is there daily. I told her that I live out of town, but I had come to remember. I spoke with the child too, smiling and gesturing and speaking Spanish and English. This 10 month old is bilingual, as is her sibling. I walked away from this conversation fuller than I was when I began my walk, which was very full.

As I continued my walk, there were flowers and turtles. I saw a woman fishing at the "top" of the path. As I came around the other side, a gentleman was swinging in another of the swings, taking a break from his bike ride. Just beyond him was a woman with a dog sitting on a bench. As I approached them, the dog started coming toward me to be petted or to get attention, it seemed. Since I wasn't sure, I hesitated. Then the woman asked if I would please pet her dog because otherwise he would be upset that he was ignored. He was a puppy with gorgeous blue eyes. I stopped to give the dog attention, knowing that Cliff might smell another dog on me when I got home and think I had dog-cheated on him. I spoke with this woman briefly about the pond, dogs, and seminary. It was a good conversation. As I left that conversation, I walked away once again fuller.

I was struck how peaceful and calm I was, how beautiful the day and conversations were. My week in spiritual direction had really drawn me nearer to the heart of God and work had been done in me.

As I finished up my walk, I came upon the third swing. I sat in it for a few moments, swinging, remembering, resting. I knew the next leg of the journey would entail traffic. I wanted to savor the peaceful and calm atmosphere of the environment at the lake/pond.

I took a moment to offer thanks for the place, for the experience, and for all the memories.

I offered thanks for my previous visit to Avondale during the week, as I had the joy and pleasure of having dinner Wednesday evening with a camp friend and her family and got to just hang out in Avondale with them in their home. 

Being back in Avondale Estates, even just briefly, was a gift for me. 

I took quite a few pictures during my walk. I made a TikTok "video" of the walk. I will share both the photos and the "video" for you, in case you would like to enjoy the nature too.

Nature, as I have mentioned many times, is my go-to for spiritual connection with the Creator. It soothes my soul, it opens up space for me to listen, to hear, to respond, etc.

Interestingly, so does antiquated spaces, such as cathedrals and stained glass windows. That might not surprise you (or me) once you (and I) realize that I am a both/and person. I've been living into the both/and for many years. I am getting more adept to holding the paradoxical tension of the two spaces, no matter what those "both" / "and" things might be. Better, mind you; not perfected. There is always room for learning and for growth.

The journey continues to be an adventure.

Rev. Deb

Qi-gong with Karen-- a new practice for me

Coming into Residency 3 for the Spiritual Direction program here at Columbia Theological Seminary, there were some things that I expected to learn, such as discernment. That was the theme for the week and the focus of our readings and videos as we came into this week. I knew that I would be learning more about the practice of spiritual direction in resources and hands-on real time experience.  What I didn't know is that our body connection would be the practice of Qi-gong. 

I have much to process going forward and I'm not sure what I'll share and not share. However, I do want to share a bit about this Tai Chi Qi-Gong with Karen Soo. We did the video below every morning. Today, we have evaluations prior to last session. I decided to do the practice on my own prior to my evaluation time.

Karen moves at a slow pace, enough to follow her well.  There are song birds in the background. If that bothers you, turn off the sound. But, the sound of song birds has a calming effect on us as we recognize that if birds are singing, they feel safe and secure. That's cool!

Doing these exercises, breath work and stretching are a large part of it.  You breathe in (inhale) and breathe out (exhale) in a rhythm. As you work through this, it is calming.

I learned that this has much to do with the autonomic nervous system and the polyvagal theory. I look forward to reading Deb Dana's book Anchored to learn more.

Going back to Karen and this Qi-gong practice, my goal is to see how it becomes a part of my practices and how that draws me nearer to the heart of God.

If you'd like to learn more about Qi-gong, check this out: Qi-gong: What you need to know.

I invite you to try Karen's video. If you do, I invite you to share your experience in the comments. Also, I'm open to more conversation.

Right now, I need to head to my assessment meeting. :)

Life continues to be an adventurous journey. 

Rev. Debra

Beauty of the weeds!

I have already shared a quote from the chapter "Nature's Perspective" in our book for class The Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision Making by Elizabeth Liebert in my recent post about the pine tree.

For someone who connects well with Creator through nature, it's a great chapter. There are many things I can write about.

A few things about weeds. Dandelions are considered weeds. For me, they aren't a weed, but a beautiful wildflower, growing up on their own, where they wish to grow. (I wrote about them recently.)  Some weeds have flowering and others remain leafy green. 

At our home we have weeds in our garden area, on our patio, in our bricks, in our yard. For the most part, weeds are something you pull up, you get rid of, right?!

But, wait!

What if we were to see the beauty in the weeds? The dandelion for example, in its yellow form, is bright yellow and throws off much brightness. It can be cheery and joyful. In the ball or blowy flower stage, there is beauty in the round ball and how light hits the opaqueness of the seeds. In the weeds of greenery, there can be a certain lushness and sense of life.

There is a poem by Mary Oliver on page 136 entitled "Praying". This poem caused me to reflect on the beauty of the weeds.  It comes from her book Thirst. I invite you to read through this poem slowly, taking note of what stands out to you.

Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention. then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which 
another voice may speak.

As I read this poem, the "weeds in a vacant lot" caught my attention. We had just walked by a house (not vacant) with a lot FULL of weeds on our way to dinner on Monday night. There was some yard art (a peacock) and some political signs. The yard was maybe about 8 inches to a foot high in places of greenery, with some flowers. Though overgrown, it had its beauty. Can God, Creator, the Divine REALLY be present in the weeds?  Can we be grateful to God, Creator, the Divine for all that we see in nature? Can we allow what IS there to help us better see and know God, Creator, the Divine?

Other words that standout to me are: doorway, thanks, silence, and another voice.

Though this lot isn't vacant, I couldn't help but put it together with Mary Oliver's poem.

Maybe the next time you see a bunch of weeds, you will pay attention to them and in the silence that you offer, another voice may speak.

Who knew that weeds could draw us nearer to the heart of God, right?!

It's possible. Especially when we are open to it and/or actively present to the God possibilities around us.

It may not be the weeds that get your attention. It may be the small  stones or the blue iris.  It could be the pine tree or the blue bird. Whatever gets your attention in nature, may it be an opportunity to gaze, to listen to the Holy.

May you find the presence of the Divine in unexpected places!

Rev. Deb

A Tree of Life-- healing reflections from a pine tree

1st view of tree--wound area #1

2nd wound area

tall, straight, majestic

tall, straight, majestic

me and the tree

solomon seal

solomon seal

Today we had an activity in our Spiritual Direction class here at Columbia Theological seminary where we were to go outside on a nature walk, spending time in nature to see what might shimmer for/to us as we asked our discernment question.  As something caught our gaze, we were invited to bring our question to it and be available to the response.

When I came, my original question centered around healing-- 'how to heal?'. As I have reflected and listening, it still centers on healing. Yet, today, the question became 'how can I invite God into the pain?'

When I got outside, immediately I noticed magnolia tree leaves caught my attention and I headed toward the tree. It was a small tree without good climbing branches. It was still a pretty tree. As I looked around the pine straw filled floor and tree filled area, a tall pine tree caught my attention. My eyes followed the tall tree high into the air. This tree was the tallest one in the bunch.  Ah, that magnolia tree was just to get me in here. Nice!

As I looked at this pine tree, I noticed that it had an injury, a scar, starting about 6' off the ground and going up to about 12'. That's it. Nothing below and nothing above. I was intrigued, mesmerized. It shimmered and caught my gaze. This tree was tall, straight, majestic. Yet it carried a wound from something from some point in time. It's growth had not stopped, but had continued.

I sat down on the ground where I could look up at it and study it more. The wind was beginning to blow a bit more and it looked like rain was coming in sooner than expected. Tiny drops began to fall, but the tree canopy covered me for the moment. I asked my question: "God, how can I invite you into the pain?" Then I wrote in my journal: "Creator God, I invite you into the pain. This tree-- it's the tallest one around. As the sap flows from a pine tree, I invite your healing balm to flow through me."  As I sat there, one of those "wormy" pollen things fell on my journal. For me that was a recognition of new life. New beginnings. 

I decided to get up from my seated position and walk around the tree. As I began to walk to my left, I noticed another scar, wound. It started higher than the first one, about mid-way up from it, but it stopped at about the same place. This one had a deeper and wider wound at the top.

 I began to wonder about the scars and the wounds on the tree: 

• What caused these deep wounds?
• How did it heal?
• How did it survive?

As I asked these questions, I realized that I didn't have answers for this particular tree. Yet, my curiosity led me to contact an arborist friend and send some photos. I also began to reflect on how my questions about the tree could also be applied to me. Oh. Hmmmm.  Much like the magnolia tree was a way for me to see the pine tree, the pine tree was a way for me to see me.  Oh, Creator God, you have a way with your creation.

In the moment, I knew that this pine tree represented for me a tree of life, my tree of life. I might not have all the answers yet, but I am on the journey.

The discernment process is a journey. My question may continue to change along the way. It's not about the destination, but the journey, so I'm good with that.

And healing? It has been my goal for a long time to be a wounded healer (as Henri Nouwen uses the term) rather than a wounded wounder, so all healing is welcome on the journey.

To observe the pine tree today and to see that it survived a difficult time in its life, that it kept on growing... that gave me hope and encouragement. Its scars and wounds are visible, yes. So are scars and wounds I have on my knee, my hip, my side, my feet. It is true that inner scars and wounds aren't visible. Yet, there are times and places where those, too, can become visible for the good of the kin-dom and the glory of the Creator.

I wanted to explore the topic of trees and wounds a little further.

I read a book about trees a while back, but it is at home-- Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees. Here is a podcast with him on the Joe Gardener show.

I looked up some information on tree wounds and found this resource: Tree Care Kit.  One thing that struck me from this site is that trees don't heal, but rather they seal.  They compartmentalize and/or create barrier zones and new tree life is able to occur with healthy tissue. Wow! Interesting.

I don't know what question(s) you might be carrying within you these days. I invite you to take a walk into nature with your question and see what catches your attention. What animate or inanimate thing draws your gaze? Spend time in thoughtful reflection. See what bubbles to the surface.

You never know what adventure you might encounter.

As I was leaving the pine tree, I encountered one lone Solomon Seal poking up from the pine straw. I haven't seen any Solomon Seal yet this season so that was a great find.

Not only did I encounter my tree of life today, but I also encountered some wisdom. [Solomon. Solomon Seal.]  And having read that trees seal rather than heal, maybe there is a message in that from nature too. Hmmmm.

May time in nature open my eyes, my ears, all my senses to the Creator and all of creation in such a way that transforms my being and my doing to align more closely with the heart of God.

Rev. Deb

P.S. My journals are nature-themed:  "Advice from Nature"

The journal that I'm currently using is a "Sun" journal.  The "Tree" one is my 3rd one. I started with "River", then "Mountain", then "Tree", now "Sun".  

Reflections from a "blowy" flower

This morning I read a quote in a book for our spiritual direction program. I put some thoughts with the quote and added a photo for an Instagram/Facebook post.

I decided I would post on my blog this evening.

Here is what I wrote: 

I find that I am am able to notice God, Creator, most and best in nature. I notice in other places too, such as a recent experience in a grocery store. Paying attention to the movements of the Holy Spirit is a practice so that I might draw nearer to the heart of God. This is my goal in the spiritual journey-- to draw nearer to the heart of God. The quote I share from the book here seemed to fit with this picture of what I call a "blowy" flower. It is a dandelion. When in this stage, the blown seeds will travel as the wind carries them and they plant themselves to renew.

"Our God is the one whom Jesus called Father, whom the Scriptures address as Creator and Lord of all that is; and whose Spirit, flowing from Father and Son, animates our lives and renews the face of the earth." ~Elizabeth Liebert, The Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision Making, xv.

Photo is mine. Chester Frost Park. 4/23/22

Additional thought this evening:

Dandelions in this form capture my attention and spirit not only because they are beautiful with their design, but because they are playful and fun. In the light of the sunset two nights ago, this weed shone brightly on the shore. It was as if it was basking in the light of the sun, taking in the light that was being offered it and glowing in return.

This journey is truly an adventure.

May it continue to be so.

Rev. Deb

Psalm 111-- giving thanks for new life

stained glass windows in the chapel of Harrington Center

a tiny "heart" in the concrete on the patio of Harrington Center

I was texting a friend yesterday and was offering a resource on the Psalms that has become dear to me: Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill.

I wanted to give this person an example of how these readings of the Psalms creates a renewed space for me.

Randomly, I opened the book and Psalm 111 stood out to me.  I had underlined these words: "Your steadfast Love is food for the soul, nourishment in times of fear."  Ah, God's love, God's steadfast love is food for the soul. Yes.

I took pictures of the book and sent them, encouraging my friend to "chew on it", to read it slowly a couple times through and think through these questions: What grabs you? What stays with you? How does it speak to you? What is it calling you toward?  I think suggested that my friend rest in these thoughts and then read it another time through slowly. Afterwards, conclude by giving thanks to God for the time spent together. (Or anything else that came up.)

The reading, the questions and the resting are a way way to practice 'sacred reading' or lectio divina. 

Sometimes I get caught up in the logistics of a practice that I fail to gain the intent of the practice, which is always to draw me closer, nearer to the heart of God. Somehow, explaining lectio divina in the way that I did for my friend above was a simpler way for me and it cut out the steps I have read and practiced before and seemed more organic to me.

I looked up Psalm 111 on line: 

Praise the Beloved, O my soul!
I will give thanks to You with
		my whole heart,
	to all who will listen, I will
		tell of your goodness.
Wondrous is Creation, Great Builder;
	I take pleasure in pondering
		your Work.
Full of honor and integrity are
		your teachings;
	those who follow them will
		find new life.
You lift the hearts of those who
		suffer;
	You come to them in their need.
Your steadfast Love is food for
		the soul,
	nourishment in times of fear.
You are ever-mindful of your
		covenant,
	a very Presence to the weary
		and afflicted.
Your Voice is truth to those with
		ears to hear,
	your precepts are sure;
Written on the hearts of your
		people, they are
	to be lived forever with
	faith-filled love and assurance.
You bring new life to the world;
Yes! life in abundance is your
		gift to us.
	Holy and glorious is your Name!
Reverence for You, O Holy One, is the
		beginning of wisdom;
	a good understanding have all
		who practice it.
	Your Spirit endures for ever!

------------------------------------------------------------------

I invite you to read through the Psalm several times slowly.

Chew on it.

What grabs you? What stays with you? How does it speak to you? What is it calling you toward?

Read it again through one more time slowly.

Offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for whatever things you got out of it and for your time with God, Creator, the Great Spirit, etc. (whatever name you use).

As I take my time this evening, spending time with this Psalm, here is what stands out to me:

• new life
• lift the hearts of those who suffer
• your steadfast Love is food for the soul
• new life (hmmm... what does that say that it stood out to me 2x?)
• life in abundance
• a very Presence to the weary

As I read through this Psalm, it is a breath of fresh air and renewal for me, it is life-giving. I give thanks to the Creator, the One who knows me best and for these words of new life and life in abundance.

If you'd like to share your reflections from the Psalm in the comments, I invite you to do so.

Continuing on this adventurous journey, 

Rev. Deb

Photos are mine. Columbia Theological Seminary.