Ruah Bull - Spiritual Director

 Sometimes the best map will not guide you You can't see what's around the bend Sometimes the road leads through dark places Sometimes the darkness is your friend

 Open unto me - light for my darkness Open unto me - courage for my fear Open unto me - hope for my despair Open unto me - peace for my turmoil Open unto me - joy for my sorrow Open unto me - wisdom for my confusion Open unto me - tenderness for my toughness Open unto me - love for my hates Open unto me - Holy Companion - open unto me 

 I used to pray that God would feed the hungry,  or do this, or that. But now I pray that God will guide me to do whatever I am supposed to do. I used to pray for answers, but now I pray  for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we  change things,

 You can grieve the leaves stripped from the maple, all that empty space between the bare branches, or you can bless the abundance of light shining through, buffing the pine boards of the floor until they turn the color of clover honey. You can mourn the coneflowers now shriveled and brown, say the whole world's going to ruin, or you can stand at the window watching the lively yellow blossom of a goldfinch feasting on each crown of seeds, sending more than a few back home, down into the open ground, which knows how to receive them.

 Your task is not to seek for love but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it

 I didn't read the news. I raked a rainbow of pungent autumn leaves, played abroad with happy dogs, held my granddaughter in my arms, and sat beneath an amiable maple, attentive to current events.