Signs - Part One

"God has prepared a path for everyone to follow.

You just have to read the omens he left for you.

Paulo Coehlo

The Alchemist

I believe God, the Creator, Spirit, the Divine Know-It-All, speaks to me.

Sometimes the voice is nothing more than a soft whisper of wind blowing through the trees, or the roar of the ocean inching toward the shore. It might be in a bird's song, a baby's laugh, or an old person's remembering. Sometimes I hear God in a crowd and sometimes when I'm alone in my car. The other day I overheard him in the conversation of those 3 young Scouts. Personally I would prefer God speak more in words that I can understand and less in signs I have to interpret for myself. That said, I'm getting better at recognizing the little (and sometimes not so little) nudges.

Like the other day I was thinking about contacting a priest friend to discuss once again what it means to be called to the ministry. It's a recurring question I have. One I am pretty good at ignoring. But it crossed my mind and within about 2 days there was the priest I wanted to speak to. I haven't seen since January, and I was in a meeting so I couldn't acknowledge him. But there was God's finger tapping me on the shoulder and pointing in the priest's direction.

And before that when I was trying really hard to forget about this workshop on grief, it kept coming up in ways I couldn't ignore until I finally said, Okay, God and registered.

In the last few days I've been getting signs about making lists. Gratitude lists, grocery lists, thank you note lists, dreams and desires lists. The kind of thing one would probably do if one was serious about taking a good hard look at her life to see where she's been, where she is now and where she might want to head in the future. The kind of disciplined thinking that I usually try to avoid then whine when I can't get a clear picture of my future.

My father was a planner and a list maker. I know this because while going through all his papers I've found many lists and record books that Dad kept over the years. Also it used to drive him crazy that I am rarely prepared beyond the bare necessities. The more he reminded me to make a plan, the more I regressed to my two year old self, dug my heels in and said "I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl". You'd think by now I would have grown out of that kind of rebelliousness. You'd be wrong!

[A sudden thought: Maybe it isn't God talking to me but my Dad still trying to pound his lesson into my head.]

I picked up a book, Living Life as a Thank You, last night. While I'm a believer in the power of gratitude, maybe haven't been so good at practicing it lately. How's this for a reminder:

"Gratitude can help us transform our fears into courage, our anger into forgiveness, our isolation into belonging, and another's pain into healing. Saying 'Thank you' every day will create feelings of love, compassion and hope."

Hmmm, I said to myself feeling that finger poking me again, perhaps if I want to start feeling less sad, less fearful, less angry, and less isolated, I should begin again to make gratitude a part of my daily routine.

So I am making the decision right now to begin listing every day things I am grateful for. Want to join me?

Today I'm grateful for:

• a new sense of awareness
• a son who makes me laugh
• pictures from Weneki

Please stay tuned for more on this subject.

Wishing for you an attitude of gratitude,

Merry Me

Living Life as a Thank You, The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude, by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons, Viva Editions, San Francisco, 2009, pg. xxiii