Where your treasure is, your heart will be also

Our daughter likes to fill up little bags and boxes with her "treasures" - all those cheap give-away toys that Mom would rather just toss.

I just hope that we are also giving her the treasures to store up "in heaven, where neither most not rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19-21) As Jesus tells us, "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also."

One reason I try to take care of my spirit is so that I can be a model to our children. I can't drive myself crazy getting them everything they want, because I don't want to teach them to neglect their own connection to God and chase after approval and material things instead.

Greg Brown sings, "Children they don't need a lot of stuff/
Children sure do need a lot of love...
If they don't get it at home they're going to go looking."

Will our children's hearts be with God, full of joy and trust? Or will they be left searching for their treasure out in the world, where it can never be found?

Be still and know that I am God

In the gospel for Ash Wednesday, Jesus invites to go and pray in an inner room, alone with the God who sees us in secret.

Do you have a special place for prayer? Perhaps a journal or a favorite chair? For me it has never been the inner room, but the walk outdoors that draws me closer to God.

Today I walked down by the pond near my office - the one I rarely see between my busy schedule and the winter cold. The sun was on the water, and ducks were playing where the ice had melted. These are the moments when my heart grows quiet.

Here is my favorite invitation to prayer, from Dan Postena's book Catch Your Breath:

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

Gas Pump Prayers

The yellow light lit up on my dashboard this morning. The car was almost out of gas. I hadn't even noticed it was low.

Sometimes it's hard to notice when our spirits are running low, too. We wait until the warning lights start coming on: headaches, flashes of temper, fatigue.

My friend, the Rev. Marya Decarlen, taught me a simple practice for renewing the spirit.

Breathe in. Imagine yourself filling with the presence of God.

Breathe out. Imagine love flowing through you out into the world.

That's it. Just breathe in God, breathe out love, and repeat. It only takes a moment, and it's amazing what a difference that few seconds of breath and prayer can make.

I usually sit at the gas pump planning worrying or planning or staring off into space. I'd like to try spending that time refueling my spirit instead.

Remember that you are dust...

No one wants to be told, "You are dirt."

But the dust is a holy thing in God's sight. Over millions of years, the remains of plants of animals have settled into the surface of the earth. The intense heat and pressure of the inner earth has pressed them into rocks. Then, slowly, the rocks have broken and eroded, until they are worn down into tiny pieces. These grains of minerals mix into the soil, anchoring the roots of plants and giving them the minerals they need to grow.

To be dust is to be an essential part of the great cycle of life. When we remember that we are dust, we remember that we too have a part to play in God's mighty dream for this world.

Lent reminds us that we are small, not to make us feel weak and alone, but to help us notice that we are connected to a truth much bigger than ourselves.

Lord, when we feel weak, give us your strength. Let your power flow through us to nourish this world. Amen.