Dear Friends,
Thank you for your support and interest for this adventure of mine. The last two days (though on Iona it feels like two weeks) have been full of highs, lows and glorious beauty. I open my bedroom window this morning to hear the sea, winds and the birds of a new land (check out the Corn Crake’s call). Inside, I’m moving slowly, yesterday was a huge hike for me, up and down a steep hill with boggy patches and unsteady footing. My body aches as I recall the arrival to St Columba’s Bay, unique in its gift of rocks, large and small, and the stories of a man and his spiritual path.
I am here on my own spiritual journey and continue to be grateful that you are there, willing to hear my reflections. Over the years, we have shared many life-gifts and challenges. Today I’m so far away from my life in the US, but when the Abbey of Iona’s prayers include places of concern in the world: Gaza, Ukraine, Los Angeles? my heart falls… my prayer deepens for us all.
While listening to the waves and wind at Columba’s Bay, I lifted you in prayer. Surrounded by the sacred grounds and sea – your intentions, your pain, your joys and unnamed needs, resting in the dark – all held by loving Presence. I experienced a swelling of feelings and wanted to cry. You know that sensation of “filling up” with a movement toward weeping? On the lighter side, I kept that feeling on pause because my nose had been “running” during the intense hiking and I didn’t have enough tissues to add tears! But here with you, in the quiet of the birds and my thoughts, I open myself to the call from within.
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. Everything changes, I alone remain. Hold patience, for nothing is wasted. Presence in all things, I’m with you in all things.” Teresa of Avila
Please click here to listen to Simon de Voil’s musical setting of this simple message of truth. Holding you close today, dear friends, our God is near.
With love, Lisa
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