Thursday, December 20, 2007

Seeking the Divine





I love this print found at Art.com by Jessie Wilcox Smith. She has been one of my favorite illustrators my whole life. I remember the Little Golden Books she illustrated growing up were always my favorite.This print is called Sea Blossom.She is doing something that I have been doing a lot of lately and that is seeking.


It seems that during this season of Advent I am seeking a closeness to God.I did not grow up in church my mom didn't like the local Churches and my dad didn't believe. I remember the day I was baptized that he made fun of me and would not allow my mom to come to the church that day.The churches of my youth were the Primitive Baptist Church of my maternal grandmother,the mixed up faith of my paternal grandmother which was a bit of Pentacostal,Catholic and Methodist and my vacation bible school church of the Church of Christ and Southern Baptist Church.As an adult I joined a friends Holiness church for a while which wasn't for me and eventually joined the Baptist church. The intervening years have seen me wax and wane in my faith and church attendance.


Now at 43 I feel a calling to some sort of church attendance but I am not sure where or what. I oddly have always felt comfort in the routine and ritual of the Catholic church. I know that each time I have been in one I feel like I am home but there are some tenants of this church which I don't hold as my core beliefs.I find that at my age and point in life I seek a closeness to god.Sometimes while surfing through the channels I land on EWTN and will watch it and a lot of the core beliefs I totally agree with.So what am I to do? I don't quite know.I know that in 2008 one of my goals is to seek the divine in my everyday life.


I know that right now I see the Divine in nature the most. I know that in the early morning or late at night when we take the dogs togo for their walk I feel the closest to God. I see the stars overhead and hear the gurgling stream and see the pictures on the fencepost painted by Jack Frost and I feel that the divine is near.I also see in it in the voice of my loved ones and even in my animals. I know that when we are up in the Cascades or near the Pacific I can't not believe.


So I guess that 2008 for me will be a year of seeking within to find the belief system that is closest to my soul and also a year to reach outward to help my fellow humanity and to become more creative.


I have always loved new calendars that you get at the end of the old year because all those blank days of the new year gives all of us a chance to start over, afresh and anew , and maybe become the person we were meant to be. I hope to cherish each day of the new year good or bad for in a blink of the eye it seems life passes us by.

Mary Lee Bonasera Matthews : Worry is not necessary. Spend an equal amount of time counting blessings. Start with your childhood. Take the time to remember to really appreciate each blessing, absorb it and think of all the good effects it has had on you and others. Don't overlook the ordinary. There are a thousand blessings in every moment, if you look. Each breath and heartbeat, every color, texture, taste, smell. A lifetime of blessings, beauty, love. Thankfulness is like water. Allow yourself the release, the cleansing, the quenching that gratefulness brings.

7 comments:

Evelyn said...

I have been doing alot of that over the past 10 years or so. I finally realized I had to sort out for myself what I actually believed in out of everything that I had been taught or heard from others or read about. It takes a lot of searching. I am still in the process, but I have found much more peace in the process also. I have learned to listen to my spirit more, which I personally believe is God's way of speaking to me. I have learned the hard way many times what happens when I don't listen and heed that voice. But I keep trying to learn from it rather than beating myself up.

I hope you have a wonderful year in 2008 and will look forward to your blog entries on your search.

His Girl Friday said...

excellent post!!!
...I can so relate, and am currently going thru a similiar situation/feeling/searching. I feel drawn to something more simple, as nature presents...I also think on the Catholic church as well, and am currently reading on the Celtic Church, pre-Rome's influence, although it seems intertwined anymore. hmmm, you've got me thinking here...perhaps I should write a post on this??!! :)))
(I'm glad you liked the happiness fairy!! ;D)

Tina T-P said...

Hi - thanks for stopping by my blueberry blog - They have aebelskiver pans at Williams & Sonoma.com - fairly reasonably priced too.

Loved the cartoon with Santa in the Hot tub - thanks for the info about the tree - I had heard that it had toppled. Nice to see that people responded about it that way. T.

Love Bears All Things said...

I feel closest to God in nature also.
I think if you feel at home with worship the Catholic way, you should go there. We don't agree with all of the organized religon edits of the baptists but their service is comfortable to us because we grew up with it. I think if you study the bible, and have your own relationship with The Father and Jesus, then organized religon is just that. The worship in your heart is the important thing.
Mama Bear

Jeri said...

Seeking for me was reading alot of spiritual books - from basic tenets of religions to more metaphysical stuff. In that way, like Evelyn, I created a system of belief that incorporates what rings true for me. Nature is truly a wonderful conduit for me as well. It is a lofty goal to find ones spirit...I wish you peace in your search. Happy holidays Yolanda!

nonizamboni said...

Please add me to the group of us who are 'seekers' and who have found God truly in nature! I love taking my old dog out in the early morning so I can gaze at the stars to wonder and listen. I agree that the worshiping part of our journey hopefully will be as unique as we are in God's eyes.
Thanks for the lovely Christmas messages and I hope we can continue to share our journeys in '08.
Love and best wishes to you!

Gudl said...

I agree with "Love bears all things":
If you feel most comfortable in the catholic church, go there. What matters most, is that you DO worship Jesus somewhere. It is all about a relationship with Jesus. He said "I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the father but through ME" . It is Jesus, that matters. Him you have to find. I did. And that's why I write about it.
Blessings to you and thanks for stopping at my blog.