Sacred View

My sacred view
includes young redwoods,
arms reaching up, up,
joyful tips embracing sky.
One is praying:
its lithe top branches
sealed together like clasped hands.
Holiness emanates from their trunks,
works its way out
through flat, short needles
onto pearled grass,
curls around manzanita’s
smooth auburn wood
swells over the windowsill
and spreads upon a floral bedspread
on which I sit
cross-legged
in silent worship.
The communion is palpable,
penetrating
and warm as the sun.
An exchange is happening
between outer and inner:
osmosis.
I am the view.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Joshua Tree Praise

There are many different forms of praise — and Joshua trees seem to favor raising their “arms” in a combination of supplication and sheer joy.
Cholla cacti
and yucca take similar stances.
Rock formations, on the other hand, delight our senses,
transferring some of the praise power to us.
Haven’t you ever seen something so dramatic,
surprising,
otherworldly
or impressive
that you are left wordless, in awe?
Those are arm-raising times for me.
Head back, eyes wide, air rushing in as a gasp.
Murmurs of “glory be” escaping my lips,
because it’s literally breathtaking,
literally glorious.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Fears

I have many fears.
Some are big.
Some are small.
Often, they bring me to tears.
Praying helps.
When I lay my soul bare
God listens.
I realize I’m not alone.
In fact, I become aware that many others have the same fears I do.
This realization is helpful.
Being unsettled can help me grow.
Much like the scratching and turning of the soil allows a seed to be planted and to sprout.
Soon a garden emerges.
And when I cultivate the garden and care for it, fears become manageable.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Made for Praise

Joy,
praise,
jubilation —
the saguaro cactus is made
for anthropomorphizing. Just look how curious this one is about me!
Saguaro National Park, divided into two sections on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona is a delight.
It shows how the diversity of creation is astounding.
Even within this desert stick-like cacti with red fruit,
fat ones with yellow fruit,
heart-shaped, pancake-flat cacti with extra-long thorns and 
green-trunked deciduous trees not only grew, but flourished!
Now that I live in a place of towering redwoods, I never expected to be so dwarfed by a cactus. Until I hiked through a saguaro forest, I thought the tallest ones were about the size of a person. Yet one was recorded at seventy-eight feet tall!
Even the saguaros that looked short from a distance seemed to grow as I approached them.
And many were older than me —
with scars to prove it.
But their perceived joy passed itself on to me as I walked about.
I found myself lifting my arms, too, in praise.

Photos © Sondra Sula; with many thanks to Mike and Dan.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Gratitude: Giving Thanks

God, thank You for the gift of wonder.
For eyes that behold in color.
For imagination: seeing a mushroom made from a jellyfish atop a rock;
envisioning a couple where one opens for embrace but the other turns away;
sensing the fearless eagerness with which a chihuahua puppy approaches a Great Dane for play.
God, thank You for creation—
its unbelievable delicacy,
mystery
and form.
Thank You for the ability to hear the ocean’s rhythmic surf
and to marvel at every creature,
large or small.
Thank You for simplicity,
complexity
and the revelation of Light. Amen.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Giving Thanks

Thank You for holding tightly to my heart; for never letting go.
Thank You for being my perfect other half.
For being my stalwart rock through every storm.
For showing me how to bend.
For eyes that see art at every turn.
Thank You for patterns of naturally occurring polka dots
and sea currency: sand dollars.
For kelp vases that hold nothing but salt water and grains of sand.
For the intricate designs in nature that human eyes may never see. And if I am fortunate enough to behold one: oh joy!
I am grateful for every shell that ever was or will be.
Thank You for the delicate threads that tether me to this world.
And thank You for the occasional view through the veil. It is there that I see most clearly.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Questions at Glass Beach

I tiptoe through a channel of slippery rocks at low tide, knowing that one misstep will plunge me into … knee-deep water and ruin my sneakers. Not exactly treacherous, yet my body pumps with fear nonetheless. My anxious discomfort is worth the reward: ankle-deep stands of beach glass. What difficulty worth looking into do I need to face?

A photographer’s dream lies before me: craggy rocks, unreal blue pools of water, shapely crevices and the ever-present glass sand. What crevices in my life need exploring?

Emerald cellophane seaweed makes its own green river complete with currents. Am I enough as I am?

A rock tunnel invites me to crawl through it, the blinding light at its end beckoning me forth. When I am called to get on my knees, do I stubbornly try to stay on my feet, bending just enough to enter into the Light?

My footprints sink into the brilliant sand as a seaweed waterfall cascades over sea-worn boulders. And if I remain on my feet, will I miss the subtle beauty that comes from close inspection/introspection?

A picturesque spill of brown, clear and Kelly green glass waits for high tide to dislodge it. When I feel low and stuck, do I believe the Mighty Waters will set me free?

A mound of seaweed calls to mind a burning bush, licked by green flames. Do I believe God speaks to me in unusual ways? Am I continually seeking God’s Presence?

I would like to think I’m listening, and telling the story I hear. For I believe all creation speaks of its Creator. What do you hear?

All photos © Sondra Sula.

If you like these blogs, you’ll most likely enjoy my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.