Home and hearth...

Ordinary Holy

“...Holy is the familiar room

And the quiet moments in the afternoon

And folding sheets like folding hands

To pray as only laundry can.

I'm letting go of all my fear

Like autumn leaves made of earth and air

For summer came and summer went

As holy as a day is spent...”

Carrie Newcomer (from “As Holy As the Day Is Spent”)

Because of the relentless heat, this has been a difficult summer for me and for many people. The heat and trapped ozone have made breathing harder for millions of folks. It has necessitated staying indoors for me. I have tried to do what I need to do in the morning, and then go inside and close the door until evening. Needless to say, I have done more than my share of grouching and harrumphing. As a nature-loving old lady, I don't like being confined to the house.

Then, I realized just how privileged and elitist this attitude is—I have an air conditioned home with all the comforts, and a solid roof above my head. What, pray-tell, do I have to complain about? So I've made a pact with myself to spend some time every day organizing and arranging each room, one at a time, to make them more inviting. I've looked at all the things sitting about and decided what can stay and what can go. I've blessed my home and given thanks to it and for it, and for the pure grace that blesses me with it. Now I feel better about the cabin fever that has plagued me.

My friend, Sally, posted this beautiful song by Carrie Newcomer on her Facebook page. I hope you'll go to YouTube and listen to it. It praises all the ordinary moments in a day and all the plain things we take for granted. There are some beautiful scenes in the video of everyday things that I hold dear, like laundry drying on a clothesline, and wild geese flying in a wedge. Sometimes, when I regret not having enough money to travel to distant places and see historic sights, I remember that all of life is right here under our noses if we are able to see it. Every place is sacred, and holiness fills every space. In fact, there is much to give thanks for every ordinary day. We don't have to travel across an ocean to experience grace.

My friend, Anna, loves doing laundry and feeding the chipmunks that come to her kitchen window. Now, they all but knock on the door when the food she puts out for them runs out. My friend, Ellen, loves to iron linens—pillow cases, table napkins. My friend, Harry, organizes the kitchen cabinets and drawers. These simple, everyday activities bring tranquility. Don't overlook life's ordinary blessings in the pursuit of the exotic. Remember Carl Jung's words, “Bidden or not, God is always present.” Even in your home, and in mine.

                                                                       In the Spirit,

                                                                          Jane