Part Of

I get off balance quite easily,
and feel like I’m on a tenuous tightrope,
ready to be swept away by the next wave of anxiety.
Thoughts become distorted
and I forget about my Rock — God —
who oversees everything
with a watchful eye,
who centers me
and reminds me who I am:
part of everything;
part of The Creator, The Great I Am.

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.

Joy Cometh in the Morning

I’ve been a morning person for a long time, but it hasn’t always been so.
When I was a teen, my family tried an experiment: they didn’t wake me up on a Saturday to see how long I’d sleep. I slept until 4 p.m.
You’d think I wouldn’t be able to sleep that night, tossing and turning. But no, I went to bed at 10 p.m. and slept like a log.
I began waking at dawn when I was in college. Technically I was not in college since I ran out of money the second semester of my second year. I decided to go to L’Abri because I could stay there for free if I worked half the day. This was back in 1981 — pre-internet — so most information was culled from a slightly more accurate version of Whisper-Down-the-Lane.
L’Abri was sort of like a Christian commune for studying an aspect of faith that perplexed you. Mine was: Guidance.
I knew the original L’Abri was in Switzerland and there was another in England, but I didn’t know about the fledgling one near Boston, Massachusetts, which was where I ended up.
Since I was born outside Boston, it didn’t seem quite as exotic as Europe. However, I did have a roommate from New Zealand and that was enough for me.
Our large, cold, Victorian room within the mansion faced east and had no curtains on the human-sized windows.
The sun rises early on the eastern edge of the time zone and we had a giant ball of light pierce our eyelids each morning, which made it difficult to “sleep in.”
I started to take walks upon waking, before breakfast and work began, to garner some solitude. The area was pastoral — large swathes of land dotted with mansions and farms. It wasn’t a place people walked.
One quiet morning a woman ran towards me from a barn, screaming that I had to help her immediately! Of course I complied. Had I known it was to deliver breach twin goats, I might have hesitated.
The births were definitely something I felt God guided me towards that day. Afterwards, I was eager to start each day early, wondering what joy might be in store.

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.

The Path We All Must Walk

Pelican Bluffs is a recent acquisition of Mendocino Land Trust (an organization that purchases land for preservation and public use). The shoals there look a bit like a waterlogged cemetery.
A nearby park bench read: For all at last returns to the sea. The ever flowing stream of time, the beginning and the end.
This cycle we call life is filled with unknowing.
What is around the next bend?
Will it be something beautiful?
Amusing?
Dramatic?
A reminder that we all must expire?
The very place I stood will eventually crumble into the sea.
But until then I believe I am gently prodded by God to notice new growth.
To notice what others are working hard to save for us.
To walk the path all pilgrims must take: The Path of Life.

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.

Feeling Overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed is almost a natural state for me.
I cried at the grocery store today. Well, technically in the parking lot. I was able to stave off tears until my cart was outside the snapping robot doors.
One minute I’m like the bee, gathering my daily nectar —
and the next minute I’m flat-out sad.
I’ve worked very hard to exorcise my various demons,
yet they return like the tides.
Whenever I feel alone, which is utterly different than luscious solitude,
I try to remember there are many others like me having similar feelings — and coping with them.

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.

A Love Letter from God

I love you — yes you — so much that it’s almost painful.
Before you were formed I knew you.
I watched you exit the birth canal with glee.
I count every hair on your head as it changes daily.
I know your entire family tree,
who your closest friends are,
all of your dreams and aspirations.
I know what you have done in the past
and what you have yet to do.
I know when and how you depart from this earthly life
and journey to the next.
I know you past, present and future.
And because of that, I love you.
Yes, you — especially you — because you are uniquely, soulfully you.

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.

Still Growing

The town of Thermopolis is known for its hot springs.
In fact, it claims to have the World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring, which it proclaims boldly on a hillside.
The town even has a gumdrop-shaped rock
that was formed via a vent pipe installed back in 1909.
Due to the “fountain” still exuding water, the rock is continually growing.
I don’t think of rocks as growing; I think of them as eroding —
becoming less —
not more.
As I age, I feel like I am becoming less,
not more.
But what if the Water of Life
is working in me so abundantly that I am overflowing?
Not dried up and useless at all —

instead a reflection of The Source: the ever-flowing circle of past, present and future rolled into one.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book,

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.

The Merge

What is it about nature that makes me feel closer to God?
Perhaps I feel less hemmed in, even when surrounded by flora.
Or free, as if I could fly away at any moment to someplace new.
I feel alone, yet not alone.
Comforted by the tall grasses reaching toward me in a way that makes me feel accepted.
I am not being judged for being broken,
or past my prime.
I see beauty all around me;
and beauty sees me.
I am unknown yet known.
I am loved in a way that makes me feel equal to everything.
I merge…

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.

We Matter

Footsteps Of Spring flowers are low-to-the-ground blooms that often create a patchy trail. Their yellow path prompts me to imagine Jesus leaving footprints of light where he walks.
Are we capable of leaving light along our path?
I believe we are.
Simple kindness can brighten someone’s day.
Our uplifted prayers
can change the world,
in subtle ways,
or in brilliant, bold ways.
As we go about our days we may feel like we are not making a difference,
but our “little selves” are unique,
a bit different from one another —
perhaps in the smallest of ways —
but different nonetheless.
And all of us are needed to create the story of life.

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.

God’s Mercy

Have you ever felt guilty about a prayer uttered from your lips? I have.
I recently asked God to get me out of a jam I had gotten myself into.
On top of that, the prayer involved a moral dilemma of which I was ashamed.
I was the “bad” person in this situation, and yet I was asking God for help.
I simply threw my hands up with a petition that sounded more like a yelp or cry.
I was willing to face the consequences; let the chips fall where they may, even if those chips fell into a dark abyss.
But after several months I was miraculously delivered, and this was part of God’s response to me: I love you. I do not want you to suffer so. I understand the strange constraints you are under. Do not mistake this for approval — simply understanding.
God is merciful.

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.