The marriage
of patience and willingness
is the fertile ground
out of which
the Spirit delights
in raising up
something new.© 2014 Dennis Ference
(First posted without pic 8/19/14.)
Spirit
Christmas Fire
The just-lit fire snaps and dances a sprightly dance,
while from the kitchen, a dissonant chorus of voices
reverberates into the last hesitant corners of quiet and calm.
Soon the festivity will all come together by the fresh pine
dressed in her holiday finest, here, next to the hearth.
But for the moment I am sumptuously alone. I settle,
coffee in hand, into a compliant, generous chair,
and smile a satisfied smile at the wooden soldiers
guarding the cascading pile of holiday spoils.
My eyes drift to the mantle, where candles, holly,
and pine cones intersperse with the latest of the grandkids’
frozen poses and smiles. How they have changed: newly
pierced ears; baby teeth multiplying; that recently assumed,
reluctant air.
In a minute or two, I will surrender solitude and reverie,
but not without the passionate sigh, not without the begrudging
nod to the transience of time turning the warm fires of our lives
into wisps of smoke escaping into some vaporous beyond.
© 2006 Dennis Ference
Spiritual Question
The big spiritual question
is not what religion
do you follow but
will you let the Spirit
sing its Love Song within
and through you.
© 2015 Dennis Ference
An Old Man Stands in Awe
How majestic is your name in all the
earth!
Psalm 8:2
Lord, sometimes when I gaze
at the sky,
time, which in these later years,
has come to move so quickly,
seems, all of a sudden,
to stand perfectly still.
And for just a moment
I rest at the edge
of endless possibilities,
and I am awed by the wonder
of all that has come forth
as gift from your hands.How majestic the mountains,
how lush the carpets of green!
How powerful the moving waters,
how graceful the billowy clouds!
How vast the varieties of
living creatures,
how splendid their mingling
and mix!And as part of all this glory,
here I stand with my brothers
and sisters,
richly blessed
to know something about you,
privileged to discover
that we come from your love
to share in the spirit
that makes things to be.How great are you
beyond all I can imagine!
How graced are we
whom you have made your own!by Dennis Ference
© 2000 Liguori Publications
Taken from Psalm Prayers for Seniors by Dennis Ference. Available from Liguori Publications, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Itunes, and other ebook sources.
The Spirit’s Breath
Be heartened by the certainty
that whether you wake
to a hurricane or gentle breeze
the divine Spirit continues
to lovingly breathe
in you.© 2015 Dennis Ference
To Writers Everywhere
Do not withhold
your words from the world
out of pride or anxiety
or concern for success;
rather entrust them
to the winds of the universe
that the wings of the Spirit
may receive and enfold them
and carry them to those hearts
and minds that secretly wait for them
with unspoken need.© 2015 Dennis Ference
Spirit
Sadly, it is easier to dismiss the Spirit
than to listen for its whisperings
behind every fence and tree.© 2015 Dennis Ference
Image and Likeness
Some of us
have a problem with God
because we create him
in our image and likeness
and then, perhaps inevitably,
find him wanting.© 2014 Dennis Ference
Anxious Thoughts
Learn to release
your anxious thoughts
to Life’s flow or
they may hold you
hostage, demanding
for ransom nothing less
than your spirit and spark.© 2014 Dennis Ference
(First posted without pic 10/16/14.)
Hardwired
We arise each morning
hard-wired by
culture and our humanity
to pursue security
control or applause
and still we wonder why
surrender to the Spirit
must be recycled again
again and again.© 2014 Dennis Ference
Photo © 2015 Lily Brock
(First posted without pic 10/9/14.)
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