The 60-Second Sabbath

In God

Whatever is in God
    can't be lost, will never be forgotten.

God is all
    and in all.

Whatever is in God,
    no matter how small,
    no matter how (seemingly) insignificant,
can't be lost, will never be forgotten.

The snail in the garden,
    the mug in the sink,
the ring on your finger,
    the dog snoring at your feet...

Whatever is in God
    can't be lost, won't be forgotten.

The Lego hiding under the couch,
    the squirrel attacking the bird feeder,
the homeless woman at the corner,
    your grandfather, your mother...

Whatever is in God
    can't be lost, won't be forgotten.

The cake in the oven,
   your fears, your hurts, your hopes, your joys,
the keyboard on which I type,
    you, me...

Whatever is in God
    can't be lost, won't be forgotten,
will never be left behind.

God is all
    and in all.

Amen.

Text and image © 2020 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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Good Dough

Like a good dough
destined to become fragrant, hot bread,
dripping with melted butter and sweet honey,
I, too, occasionally need to be punched down,
deflated,
returned to an earlier state,
and left in a warm, quiet place
to rise again.

Like a good dough,
I, too, relish a hard knead
by hands knowing and strong.

Like a good dough
ready for presentation at the dinner table,
golden and crusty on the outside,
yielding and finely textured within,
I, too, must withstand the heat of the oven,
the cut of the knife.

Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

The Wonder-Filled Life

The spiritual life
is lived in wonder.

Faith calls us to amazement,
to awe:

    waves pound;
    babies burble;
    cicadas buzz;
    ferns unfurl;

    hearts crack;
    wounds heal;
    truth wins;
    love endures.

Open,
you,
to the worshipful wow.

Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Essential Self

You are not your history;
your history is not you.

You are not your family;
your family is not you.

You are not what you believe;
your beliefs are not you.

You are not your accomplishments;
what you've done is not you.

You are not your thoughts about you;
what you think is not who you are.

You are not the friends you have;
your relationships are not you.

You are not the job you have;
your career is not you.

You are not the body you've sculpted,
    the car you drive,
    the salary you make,
    the clothes you wear,
    the stuff you own,
    the identity you cling to...

All of the above is over there;
you are over here.

Without it all,
here you are,
same you,
no more, no less,
complete,
worth celebrating,
definitely worth celebrating.

Do you affirm your stripped and naked,
    solitary, essential self?

Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

A Much Shorter Catechism

Q:    Who is God?
A:     Yes.

Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

The Set Up

Tell me I'm handsome,
tell me I'm smart,
tell me I can do and become
    whatever I want,

and when I encounter failure,
when I make mistakes,
when I face reality,

I will doubt myself,
wonder what's wrong with me,
realize I can't possibly be
    as handsome, smart and competent
as you said.

Either you were horribly wrong,
or I've screwed it all up.

Tell me to enjoy the challenges,
to be intrigued by my mistakes,
to love making the effort,
to continue learning
    no matter what happens,
and you've given me the tools
to love life
and myself.

The illusion that I'm all that
destroys.
The desire to keep trying
empowers.

Text and image © 2015 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Would You?

You don't believe;
    I get that.
But if you could,
    would you?

I can't run a marathon,
    but if I could,
    I would.

I can't sing like Andrea Bocelli,
    but if I could,
    I would.

We share that ache for meaning,
    don't we?

    yearning for depth,
    craving connection,
    desiring amazement...

It would be nice to believe,
    wouldn't it?
Would you,
    if you could?

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

In what ways, today,
will you increase your awareness
that you are God's beloved?

By reading this,
you have.

And you might

slow down    sing    sit    keep silence
walk    open    hold hands    absorb
listen    meditate    stretch    observe
release    breathe    read    love
be

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

 

Advent Prologue (John 1:6-9)

There is someone
sent by God
whose name is
[insert your name here!],
who comes as a witness
to testify to the light,
so that all might believe.

[Insert your name here!]
is not the light
but comes to testify
to the light.

The true light,
which enlightens everyone,
is coming into the world.

True light
is coming.

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.

Related articles

Avian Advent

Advent Grief

How, at your end, are things?

Christmas just a few weeks away
and such sudden emptiness
of home, of heart

death leaves us vacant;
I have felt it;
negative space the shape of your beloved

for a time
you shall occupy that space
cry there, breathe there
fall into sleep there,
    a sleep not unlike death
unfathomably, you shall heal there
there in that nothingness

it's not a dangerous place
just necessary and sad

Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.