God, be my breath...

"God, be my breath, my steps, my first word."

- Gerald May  



It is easier to say this prayer when things are going well. But when I am angry or hurting, it becomes much more difficult to acknowledge Him as still actively present and flowing thru all that I am... until I am able to make an act of faith and pray for a reconnection to "the one true thing that matters."

Dearest Lord,

be my EVERY breath

my EVERY step

my EVERY word

in every moment

 of my life.

-  Prayer on October 1, Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, 

& the beginning of another spiritual year in the Lord

Faith and Courage

There is a cute, old song by Frank Sinatra entitled, "Love and Marriage" where the lyrics go, "Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage." Using the same tune, my mind however has been playing the lyrics, "Faith and courage, faith and courage, go together like a horse and carriage"...

I find that the more I desire to move towards greater courage in my choices and actions, the more it is my faith that becomes strengthened.  Faith in Him. Faith that it is He who plants this desire for greater courage. Faith that it is us together who will move forth in pursuit of His Will. And the more my faith grows, the more I am able to gather the courage and confidence to let go of security blankets and venture outside of comfort zones. Faith and courage.  One can't do without the other. They are so interlinked.

Lately, I have also been reflecting on courage as experienced during yoga classes. For one not really physically inclined, working on the seemingly unreachable and difficult yoga poses (e.g. shoulder stand!?!, back bends using the chair, all kinds of literally challenging stretch poses, etc.) has taught me that as long as our spirit desires to have courage, and if the mind wills it, the body can eventually achieve the goal, albeit little by little.  Stretch.. stretch...stretch... until one day, the happy discovery that "Oh my gosh, I can do it!" arrives.  

The amazing interaction between the body, mind and spirit can really give birth to faith and courage - not only in yoga, but in all else that matters with our life   :-)


.

Faith Like His Love

"My love for you is taller than the tallest mountain

deeper than the deepest ocean

wider than the widest horizon.

May your faith in me
be as tall
and as deep
and as wide
as my love for you..."


- Jesus

Walking on Water

There are days when worry creeps into me, especially when I feel that I am not able to be as productive and effective as I would like to be at work. The feeling is there not because of lack of effort in trying, but more because of my age-old, hard to get rid of habit of self-doubt!

Today is one such day. So I did what I knew I had to do - visit the Blessed Sacrament and sit in front of our Beloved Lord's True Presence. While with Him, the gospel scene of Peter being called by the Lord to walk on water, gently came to mind. 100% Faith. 100% Trust. Believing that He dwells in the inmost core of our being and is always with us, moving us in the direction He wants, when we allow Him to take over. If doubts creep in, we will get that sinking feeling. But with faith in His deep love and constant presence with us, we can, like Peter, actually walk on water!

"Dearest Lord, please do the work like You have so often assured me You desire to do. Help me to overcome my all my self-doubts and to develop 100% Faith in You. Unlike Peter, help me to reach the point where I even forget I am walking on water, because I feel secure from the deepest part of me, that You and I always walk together."

The journey of commitment to 100% Faith starts now. At the very least, it's worth taking a first step..