Month: April 2017

The Death Prayer

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The Death Prayer

In my family we hold “Decoration”.  “Decoration” is a time to visit the graves of our loved ones and place flowers there to honor them.  This usually occurs near the first of May or near Mother’s Day.  The “Decoration” time was not only to honor our dead, but it served as a great time of gathering for family.  For this reason, I remember the piece I wrote on death this week.  Also April was the time in which my Mom started her new life with God.  Even though this still has to be one of the toughest times in my life, I am also brought peace with the sadness.  Near and at my Mom’s death I witnessed such peace from her.  Due to the Alzheimer’s her peace was stolen here with us.  She recognized that death would bring her peace.  I know I learned one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned from her at that time.  Don’t wait to find peace in the other world.  Find it now so that joy can consume your soul.    Peace leads to joy and joy to love.  It can continue to your next travels, but why wait when you can feel it now!  So seek peace this week.  It can be experienced here as well as in heaven and the other paths we will follow!

The Death Prayer

Bone to bone.

Each one touching.

I need rest.

Deep inside of my inner soul,

I need rest.

 

The wants and demands have to stop at some point.

One albatross changes into another.

The weight on the body pushes it down.

The inner spirit needs peace.

Will peace not come?

 

God come into my mind.

Give me your comfort.

Pass me your calm.

One tear falls.

Then another.

 

Finally releasing themselves as wails.

Wails that reach into silence.

Release is for a moment then the next burden comes.

Tears rise again and fall.

The last wails rise against the silence.

 

This is why death becomes so easy.

As our wisdom becomes deeper,

We know that peace can only be reached when this body breathes no more.

That is when the bones let go.

And the air dissipates gently.

 

Relief causes us to relax.

I beg please allow me to know the peace in this world.

Please do not hold it back for the next plane.

Let my mind rest in you.

I know your interest is for my joy.

 

Let my bones lean onto the Earth and relax.

Let my soul lay in the fragrance of my spirit.

Let my breath flow into the sky.

Please let my heart stretch to receive love.

And know that I am satisfied with my plight.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Death will come, but peace doesn’t always.  So it is imperative that you find peace in order to have joy and to love more.  Thank you so much for reading with me this week.  Blessings of breaths with peace this week for you and yours!

Love,

Rennae

 

 

Journey

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Roadside Bouquets

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Roadside Bouquets

Each and every one of these specimens along the roadside adds to the full picture I am blessed to see in my life.  The dandelions bring something to the full visual that the dogwoods do not, just as the pinks offer as much as the blackberries.  The picture would just not be complete without each and every one of these.  This is how life is.  Each and every one brings such special contributions to the picture.  You don’t bring the same that I do.  Your friend doesn’t bring the same as you.  We all have special abilities, talents, and gifts that make the love complete in this world.  Never hesitate to show your brilliance in the picture!  There will be a void in the “Monet” of life if you don’t!

Roadside Bouquets

I glance right!

I glance left!

And there they are!

 

All along the roadside.

Yellow heads pop up everywhere.

Small purple blooms reach across the small patches of green.

 

The lacy whites dance among the grasses.

The wind slightly tosses them forward and backward.

The pinks glide with the winds movement.

 

Crimson clovers rise above the ground declaring themselves as King.

Vetch stretches its small vines around and throughout anything in its way.

Honeysuckle creates its succulent trumpets.

It dispenses its toxic aromas taking me to a sweet land.

 

Dandelions pop their golden heads all throughout the short grasses.

Their fluffy tops later shed to create a seed snowstorm.

The yellow star’s flower turns into a soft white ball of seeds.

The orange lilies burst open in families making the ditch burst like a sunset.

 

The locusts’ blooms shower the road like sleet on an icy day.

Some brush my car as I drive by.

Others float across my windshield.

And some stand tall with attention and salute me as I drive by.

 

The redbuds and dogwoods break from beneath the cracks in the rocks to make a lush canopy over the road.

The blackberries peer as black dots along the fence rows.

They dangle waiting for a creature to nibble them as their lunch or supper.

 

The bouquets are never ending!

They change their colors, their shapes, and their sizes.

All making the road a better path to travel!

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Enjoy the roadside “bouquets” along your traveled path this week.  Don’t just pass by.  Stop and really pay attention.  Use your gift this week to complete the masterpiece!  Bloom blessings to you this week!  As always, thanks for taking your time to be with me.

Love,

Rennae

 

 

Blessings

 

Traditions

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Traditions

It is good to be back!  I missed everyone so much.  My Dad, Jim, has experienced some difficult health issues, so I have needed to be with him over the past weeks.  He is on the mends, and thanks to the many prayers to God from all of you for him.  Starting today we as Christians and other beliefs begin some very important traditions for our faiths.  A special emphasis will be placed on these traditions to be carried out through Sunday.  My hope is that we expand these traditions into our every day to day and moment by moment living.  We don’t wait for that one special time of the year.  Everyday should demonstrate a tradition that our God finds pleasing.  These traditions should also demonstrate our love that we are giving to this world.  So this week seek to celebrate all the time everyday, not just during this traditional season!

Traditions

Why do we repeat the actions of the past?

Why do we place our faith in actions?

Our foundation is hope,

Which we practice through faith.

 

The service to praise God’s birth

Or to praise God’s death for us.

The star with its five rays of light.

The square and compass with lines to God.

 

All guide us to the one and only.

The reason for these actions we repeat and replay.

Is this repeat genuine?

Is it real?

 

We do in reverence to the One.

The One that provides grace to use between these traditions.

The One who moment by moment is with us,

In our hearts, in our souls, and in our bodies.

 

God as the center of the star of light

And the eye of the Almighty

Knows tradition is our way of thanksgiving for His grace and love.

With each step of the tradition,

We walk the labyrinth of the journey in becoming closer to God.

 

The gathering, the praises, the laughs,

The tastes, the prayers, the promises,

The ceremonies, the songs, the pictures, and the relationships—

Are all the traditions for our God.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

I pray that you and your family find joy and traditions not just this weekend, but all year long!  Accept God’s blessings and celebrate every day!  My love and prayers are made for those who lost their lives or those that were injured worshiping and celebrating this last week.  We hold you and your families in our hearts and pray for healing.

Love,

Rennae

 

Family and Traditions