An internet search on ‘body remembered anniversary’ results in thousands of sites describing how people write about mentally forgetting the date of a loved-one’s death, but how their body recalls the date with discomfort. This emotional bodily response is called an “Anniversary Grief Reaction.” The intensity may be so strong it is as though reliving …
by Lexiann Grant “…we commend to thy fatherly goodness ALL those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed…”— BCP, Prayer For All Sorts and Conditions of…all mankind Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi. The name kept intruding into my thoughts, especially during nightly prayers. I knew that I was not acquainted with anyone bearing that name. After three …
“The discomfiture we feel may be our most accurate human sensation; reminding us we are not quite “at home” here. — C.S. Lewis In his novel “Anxious People” Scandinavian author Fredrik Backman writes about how life hurts sometimes simply because we don’t feel like we belong in our own “skin,” that it doesn’t feel like it is ours. We …
“Animals are footprints of God.” Martin Luther Scripture hints that God presents himself to us through his creatures with Balaam. His donkey stopped because an angel was standing in the way, and “the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth” to speak directly to Balaam. When Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, Mark’s gospel indicates that he was …
of Merry Light and Happy Voices by Lexiann Grant “Lumen hilare sanctae…Dignus es in tempore quovis sanctis vocibus celebrari…”Literal Latin Phos Hilaron portion. The first time I truly slowed and focused my nightly prayers, and began the discipline of reading Evening Prayer, the line, “You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy …
by Lexiann Grant “I sink in deep mire, rescue me from sinking in the mire; Do not let…the deep swallow me up. Draw near to me … Where can I go from your spirit?…if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.” Ps 69:2a, 14a, 15b, 18a; Ps 139:7a, 8b NRSV We are in pain. Sorrowing, grieving. Furious, frustrated. …
An aura of goodness she seemed to be emitting caught my attention. When our glances met, I was drawn towards her. Inside the box were dozens of sets of tiny, cheap earrings that she said she’d made. She asked if I’d like a pair.
“The worried, struggling Jesus of Lent, is one to whom we can relate, especially now. Like Jesus in Gethsemane, we pray for an end to ever-mutating covid and avoidance of war on an unprecedented scale — requests which may be unfulfilled.”
“Hope is hard to come by these days. Never ending pandemic and mutations, inflation, escalating global tensions, crime and political divisions on the home front. A mental health practitioner told me that, regardless of her patients’ diagnoses, every single one is suffering anxiety and increased stress.”
“If your Christmas this year is lonely or impoverished in any manner – be present – remind others you are here and of value. Ask for prayers. Ask for help. Give others the gift of the opportunity to be kind and generous, as Jesus directed us to be. We truly need the restoration of compassion.”
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