Pause to Ponder

Gathered together at Maple Ridge Assisted Living
we were stirred to cheer so that everyone knew
“We’ve got the Spirit! How about you!” 🎉🔥🙏

Growing older we best be explorers
When memory fades
take heart and move into another intensity

Like Carol gifting her mom for her 96th birthday
a new phone with pictures of her loved ones
There is further union and communion growing old

I pray my aging heart be like a weathered mailbox,
open to give up and receive what makes me new
all the days of my life

I took a breath
took air in enough
to respect and listen to others

Giving them space
to express their beliefs
and those shared values we hold as sacred

How do I welcome you
Guest of my heart?
Do I pay attention to you
Offer you a cup of tea
Enter into communication?
Or do I leave you sitting alone
While I go busily onward
Feeling I’ve done my duty
By simply opening the door
And inviting you in?

Today: I will do more than open the door.

(Picture of door at St Edwards Church, England, Words from Eleanor Farjeon in Fragments of Your Ancient Name)

Like the Ancient Greeks we live in a time of
vibrant ideas and mind-spinning advancement
but in morning devotions comes this age-old question:
What satisfies the persistent longing in our hearts?

How easy it proved to be

to strum my little instrument in song

for folks in need of some “pick-me-up”

And when politics & aging threaten to infuriate
and it feels like there’s so little I can do about it
to speak love, sing about it, and offer up a smile

Yes, even when feeling useless and exhausted
enough hope springs up within and around
to send hearts soaring with love and good cheer

Big thanks to friend and bassist, Gary Streeter, who joined in on the fun!

With the spark of Easter in me
I am wild and brave enough to believe
I can bear good fruit in my older years

Behold with awe every sign of
Life’s renewing presence-
a kind word,
a morning breeze,
a generous impulse
a wave of gratitude

All are glimpses
of Easter’s restoring power
lifting us to newness of life!

—from Daily Word on April 5, 2026

Singing through the final seasons of my life
Sowing seeds of love, joy, and peace
Surrendering my need to see the harvest