During this time of isolation, we are sharing prayers, poems, inspirational music, videos and quotes that uplift our spirits in a special email newsletter each Tuesday. Here is an excerpt from our June 8th edition.
Blessing our Homes
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house’ (Luke 10:5). When the disciples entered a home, they prayed a blessing not only on the building, but moreover the people and beings that would pass through, live, and move out from it to touch other’s lives in proximity and throughout generations.” -Meg Bucher, author of Friends with Everyone
I remember the day in May, 2018 when we moved out of our house. As much as I was looking forward to our next home, it was an emotional moment when I closed the door for the last time. Once the movers had left, I spent a few minutes by myself, sweeping out the rooms. There, in the eerily quiet space, I stopped and said a prayer to the building that I had called home for 32 years. I thanked it for the solid walls and warmth, for the memories of raising my kids, the laughter, the family gatherings, the cosey fires…..and so much more. Now, devoid of people and furniture, it had transformed from home to a blank echoing building. I realized that there is truth to the saying “home is where the heart is”. The momentos that moved with us…the pictures, the books, the souvenirs from travel are all meaningful, but it is the experiences we share with family and friends that will ultimately transform this space into our home.
-Patti Thompson
Stroll For the Soul
For a second year, we are featuring Stroll for the Soul, a collaboration of Kereru Publishing in New Zealand and Prayer Bench in Canada. The focus is on homes and habitats. In daily strolls, we are invited to explore the habitats of native wildlife and then to reflect using photography, poetry writing, and journaling. Whether it’s a spider building its web, a chipmunk burrowing its underground home, or a beaver building its dam, there are marvels to explore on our daily walks. Each habitat is designed to help us notice something about the wonder and sacredness of our Earth Home.
Reflection by Peter Wilkins
I have participated in Stroll for your Soul for several years now, including many while travelling in other countries. This year COVID keeps us at home (or our cottage) and I have enjoyed experiencing these daily searches for new habitats on nearby walks in Willowdale and Haliburton. With our hosts writing from New Brunswick and New Zealand, we don’t always have a ‘match’ for their daily example of habitats, but their reflections teach us about new creatures and invite us to search beyond our pathways.
To encourage my searching and learning, I have been using a new App, iNaturalist, to photograph plants, animals and birds to help identify the amazing range of different species in our midst and relate these to our daily theme ‘homes’.
Each day’s reflection ends with a similar blessing
“Peace to your house (name the habitat visited that day). May God cause all to be well with you.”