The River at Dawn

I awaken in the deepest and darkest part of the night and cannot get back to sleep, so I pray - "Hail Mary's" and "Our Fathers", and feel sweetly embraced - as if covered in a mantle of peace and comfort and protection - granted by my fervent supplications...

A friend sends me a newsletter - Make a Difference with Compassion - by Mary Robinson Reynolds - reminding that we should give thanks for what is good in the midst of so much news that highlights fear and lack and dismay. The reading speaks of Jesus who wisely counseled:

"Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and the door shall be opened...

If you know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."

If one's faith is big enough, and strong enough, one needs to only ask once, though most of us may need to ask several times...Scripture also teaches that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains...

I think of this, as I go down to the river for the first time at dawn. I am surprised there are already some cars there - though there is not a soul in sight.

Last night I put this exhortation into practice - meditated and asked from the deepest deep within and received a sign at the end of my meditation...

I walk down to the rocks. It is windy, and gray, and forlorn. The clouds - looking like a mosaic - are reflected on the water's surface. The silence is interrupted by the black powder of hunters, and I decide against coming back later to paddle for it would not be very meditative or wise.

I do not stay long - it is too cold - and I find the frequent shots violent and disturbing. On my way out, I see one lone deer lost in his own reveries, oblivious to what his kinfolk are experiencing on the other side of the river...

"In this time...give thanks for all that you have
and all you hope to be...
Turn your full attention to that which breathes you
and created the entire Universe...
It would make practical sense that this power
and this presence that created you
and everything in the world
is competent and capable enough
to assist you with any challenging opportunity
you may be facing right now.
It takes stretching that spiritual muscle
to get to the heart of what is really trying to happen
through what you are feeling you would prefer."
- Mary Robinson Reynolds

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