Thank you to the Episcopal Church in which I was raised

 To the church in which I was raised. Recently I saw a poem going around that was entitled to the church I was raised. It was basically a poem about the disconnection and downright hypocrisy of many of the Christian churches who preach lovingkindness but only demonstrate it to those who are like-minded. The churches who demonstrate a lack of love and kindness to those who are  different races or are part of the lgbtq+ community. It got me to thinking about the church in which I was raised the Episcopal Church which which is a very open-minded Church. here is my poem to the church in which I was raised.

To the Episcopal church in which I was raised, I have this to say, thank you.

Thank you for practicing the loving kindness that you preach.

Thank you for flying that rainbow flag right next to the flag of the USA and the Episcopal Church flag.

Thank you for welcoming everyone equally.

Thank you for performing gay marriages even before they were legal because it was the ethical thing to do.

Thank you for ordaining priests and deacons who are cisgender women and Men, transgender women and Men, of all Races and from all walks of life.

Thank you for welcoming those from other religious backgrounds with loving kindness and understanding.

Thank you for accepting those who have other spiritual practices in addition to the church.

Thank you that you exemplify Jesus's service to others daily.

Finally thank you for continuing to practice the unconditional love and kindness of of God the Father God the son and God the Holy Spirit.

Ash Wednesday 2024

 It's Ash Wednesday and after receiving the Ashes upon my forehead I looked down at the bracelet that contains a small portion of my Mom's ashes and the locket that contains her picture and the picture of her mother. After church I drive back to my town and pass other churches who's parking lots are also full for Ash Wednesday. When I get back to town I go for my usual walk around the cemetery. The ashes on my forehead remind me that God made us from dust to dust we shall return. We often avoid it but the truth is from the time that we are born we will die. That fact was emphasized today during my walk around the cemetery. There was a funeral taking place by a grave site. Seeing this, I think about people that I have lost and people who I know will croak at some point. I think about people I love who knew their time was growing near and have opted for Hospice care. I think about my mom's brother who is also my godfather. He is living with end stage Parkinson's disease and is now on hospice.  I remember my mom a few days before she passed from end stage triple negative breast cancer with metastasis. She literally called hospice and told the hospice nurse that she heard her own death rattle and she knew her time was near. Ironically the Lord picked the same day that he had brought her fourth into the physical world to bring her back into the non-physical world. To put it simply she died on her birthday.

As father McDonald said in his sermon today we don't like to think about our own mortality. Death can be a touchy subject for people. I have a friend who's in his 90s and anytime he talks about his impending demise his daughter-in-law gets very upset with him. She tells him he's not allowed to die because she wants them to go together. However, as he points out to her, she's in her 50s and they’re not likely to go at the same time. I remember when my dad's brother was originally diagnosed with liver cancer not long after I moved here. The medical team asked him, did he want to be resuscitated or did he have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate order). He said he wanted to be resuscitated. He held out hope that the surgical chemo would work. On the other hand I treat death with a great deal of disrespect . There are times when I tell him I'll see him tomorrow and he'll say “Well I'll probably be here but I might have just gone down the road.” This is one of the expressions he uses for dying. I tell him “Well, if I don't see you then I'll check with the funeral director in town.”  I tell my nieces when I die, torch me and scatter me in the San Francisco Bay. They find my reference to being cremated disturbing but they’re used to our family’s dark and twisted sense of humor. I find treating death with disrespect takes away some of the fear of it. The late Dr Wayne Dyer said that we are not physical beings living a temporary spiritual existence We Are Spiritual Beings living a temporary physical existence. Or as father McDonald said when he put the ashes on my forehead remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. 

Everyday miracles

 When we talk of miracles we think of the BIG ones like the 3 Epiphanies of Jesus. The Infant King’s (Jesus the infant) manifestation to the Magi; the manifestation of Christ as the Father’s beloved Son at His baptism; and the manifestation of His glory in the working of His first sign at the wedding feast of Cana (turning water into wine). As Dr. Wayne W. Dyer said “Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing.” Abraham-Hicks has the affirmation “Things are always working out for me.”

 A few people in my life reminded me to get back to my metaphysical roots and start listening to Abraham-Hicks and Florence Scovel Shinn affirmations and teachings.  I lost my key fob a while back while I was walking through the cemetery as part of my desire to ground myself physically and spiritually. I lost it on the second day I started walking . There were a few obstacles to my finding the key at the time. One was time consideration because I had to get to work so I had to call my aunt to pick me up and take me to my house so I can get my other key fob. She drove around the cemetery a few minutes but I literally could not tell her where I thought I had lost my key because the perimeter of the cemetery is about 2 miles, and I don't stick to the paved areas I meander through the Headstones apologizing to the residents of the cemetery because being a mystical empath I tend to pick up on energy from the other side of the veil. So we saw some grounds keepers working and my aunt pulled over brought one of the groundskeepers over to her car where I was sitting with Grandma and I gave the groundskeeper my phone number and told him I thought I might have lost it between this family's headstone and that family but I didn't know for sure because I zigzagged all over. Now I continued to walk for the next few weeks each time I went asking God and St Anthony the patron saint of that which needs to be found and my ancestors buried at the cemetery to please help me to find the key fob . About a week after I lost the key fob I noticed the American flag that usually flies in the cemetery by the Vietnam memorial was on the ground. It was raining and the wind was beginning to pick up but I unhooked the flag from the d-clips, folded it up properly, placed it out of the weather and called the number of the groundskeeper and told him what had happened and what I did. 

2 weeks later I hadn't been back to the cemetery that week because temperatures had literally been in the single digits; there was snow and ice on the ground and I couldn't get out of my house for a few days. Going back to the affirmations of Florence Scovel Shinn and Abraham Hicks I shifted my focus and I simply said I give thanks that my lost item will be returned to me. I didn't specify which lost item I figured God/The Universe/Source knew what I was talking about. 

13 days after I lost my key fob, I saw the groundskeeper at the local burger joint and inquired about my key fob. He replied no they still hadn’t found it. My guides also told me to ask about the flag. He explained they hadn’t put the flag back up yet because the ground was too soft to get the truck in to get high enough to reach the top of the flagpole. So I thanked him and again I gave thanks to God/Universe that the lost item is returned to me or that means for me to pay for a new one will be provided to me. 

That same evening I went home and was just doing random picking up. I went to look in a box for something and there was my bracelet with a small amount of mom's ashes which I had thought I lost and a necklace I had forgotten about both of which I had misplaced last Spring. The way I know it was last spring was due to the charm that was on the necklace (a shamrock aka 4 leaf clover). So I was like oh well I gave thanks the lost item was returned and here's my necklace and my bracelet . So I was pretty happy about that . The next morning as I was taking care of grandma I got a call from the groundskeeper. “We found your key fob.” I asked where I could come get it and he said “Where are you located?” I gave him grandma’s address and he said “We’re right by there I’ll come over and drop it off” and he did and I literally asked him if I could give him a hug because I was so happy that he had found my key fob. Which by the way after 2 weeks of being exposed to the elements including snow and rain and being somewhat scratched up still worked. Now how many things had to be in alignment for them to find my fob and for me to find a bracelet and a necklace that had been missing for 10 months? Not to mention that all of these items were returned to me within a 24-hour period. As Grandma's other caregiver noted, we think God only worries about the big stuff that he doesn't have time to take care of small stuff. The thing that we tend to forget is that with God there's no such thing as a small miracle there's no such thing as a big miracle it's just a miracle. “Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing.”