Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

  • Home
  • About
  • DISCLOSURES
    • Amazon Affiliate
    • Book Reviews
  • Published
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Commit Poetry
    • Dared

Monday Meditation: See

January 24, 2011 By Sandra Heska King

Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God. ~Abraham Hershel

I want to see God.

I want to see His magic in every moment.

To go deep with Him in the ordinary and experience the extraordinary.

To not just see Him but behold Him.

And see the world in His light.

It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. ~Helen Keller

I think about how I pulled into the hospital parking ramp and realized I’d just driven 26 miles on auto pilot. Without a clue as to how I arrived at my destination.

And wondered what I missed along the way.

A child’s shy wave–unreturned?

Furrowed fields lined with snow carpets?

A lone deer who dared expose itself to glean within the rows?

The blotchy belly of a hawk perched high on a pole?

I don’t want to journey on auto pilot.

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God’s handwriting.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think of this morning’s God-colored yard gifts–crimson cardinals and blue jays and gold finches and black-capped chickadees.

And then I remember . . .

the fire!

I forgot all about it.

I race downstairs to discover, yes, it has grown cold. I stir the white ash, bend low, and puff. A swirl of dust and flakes fly heavenward, and a handful of coals begins to glow warm. I push them to center with the side of the poker and stack broken bits of branches and dry debris on top.

I close stove door, leave slightly ajar for draft.

And wait.

Willing brilliance from the barren.

Life from death.

And my paltry pile bursts into small flames that lick around and between.

I add larger twigs and then a brittle chunk of wood

Crimson and blue and gold tongues engulf the belly of the stove. I come close and feel my face and hands bake.

I think of Isaiah and coal hot to lips. And Moses barefoot low before a burning bush.

And I think of how He takes our paltry piles of brokenness and ashes cold and rekindles with a puff of His breath. Life and beauty and passion flame again and again.

The heat of holy throbs within my chest, and I sense I stand on holy ground.

Because every moment we see Him or sense His presence–in His word, in His world, in His people, in our circumstances–is a holy moment.

Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.
~Abraham Heschel

And I worship there, on the flagstone.

Because I’ve seen Him in the fire.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ~Matthew 5:8

Praying you see Him in every moment and sense the holy throughout the week.

Linking with L.L. Barkat at Seedlings in Stone.

On In Around button

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Sheila Hollinghead says

    January 25, 2011 at 12:17 am

    Beautiful. May we always “see.”

    • Sandra says

      January 25, 2011 at 9:12 am

      Yes. Really see. Thanks, Sheila.

  2. Carol J. Garvin says

    January 25, 2011 at 1:13 am

    Thank you for this. Your words bring a blessing wrapped in holiness that warms my soul.

    • Sandra says

      January 25, 2011 at 9:15 am

      Come. Let’s have tea in front of the fire. 🙂

  3. Adam Collings says

    January 25, 2011 at 1:16 am

    Cool. A good reminder that we can Find God in many places if we just look. Thanks for this.

  4. Michael says

    January 25, 2011 at 7:31 am

    This is beautiful today Sandra.

    • Sandra says

      January 25, 2011 at 9:15 am

      Thanks, Michael.

  5. seekingpastor says

    January 25, 2011 at 10:09 am

    Nice. He is there to be seen, heard, experienced.

    • Sandra says

      January 28, 2011 at 11:50 pm

      And it’s hard to see, hear, or experience unless we slow down and savor.

  6. Lorna G. Poston says

    January 25, 2011 at 10:19 am

    Great post!

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:01 am

      Thanks!

  7. S. Etole says

    January 25, 2011 at 11:42 am

    I especially like that quote by Heschel … we so rarely take the time to just “be.”

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:02 am

      That being thing sometimes seems like we’re wasting time.

  8. jasonS says

    January 25, 2011 at 12:22 pm

    Great post and that Helen Keller quote sums it all up. Wonderful, Sandra. Thanks.

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:02 am

      Thanks, Jason.

  9. Michelle DeRusha says

    January 25, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    I love this, Sandra. And your writing is incredibly strong here.

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:03 am

      Oh, wow. Thanks.

  10. deidra says

    January 25, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    “I don’t want to journey on auto pilot.” Me either.

    You’ve made a quiet place here, today. I’m a fan of quiet. Thanks.

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:04 am

      I would sit in a quiet place with you, sipping tea . . .

  11. Susan J. Reinhardt says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    I especially like the Helen Keller quote. Many times, I’ve walked through life on auto pilot…and missed so much. May I be fully engaged and present in all He has for me each day.

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:04 am

      Amen!

  12. Lyla Lindquist says

    January 25, 2011 at 10:07 pm

    And I’m amazed every time He blows soft into those ashes and reignites His fire in me, those times I forget to tend it myself. He always sees.

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:05 am

      There have been times when He’s let me sit in those ashes for awhile . . .

  13. Lynn Mosher says

    January 26, 2011 at 10:39 pm

    *jawdrop* I…am…speechless! Beautiful, Sandra! Really…truly…beautiful. {{sigh}}

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:05 am

      😀

  14. Anne Lang Bundy says

    January 28, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Keep diving, Snady. You’re bringing up wonderful treasures to share with us. : )

    • Sandra says

      January 29, 2011 at 12:06 am

      :d 😀

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Meet Sandra

I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

Get updates from the stillness by email

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Archives

Categories

Instagram Inspiration

sandraheskaking

For most of us, knowledge of our world comes large For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?" ~ Rachel Carson in The Sense of Wonder
#prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michigan #prayformsu #spartanstrong #spartannurse #michiganstateuniversity
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faith Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ~ Psalm 136:1
A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana A tale of two iguanas... I did not see the iguana in the background until I downloaded the photos. That, I believe, is the one that got caught in one of the openings in the neighbor's chain link fence. We tried in several (safe) ways to dislodge it without luck and could think of no other option but to leave it. Somehow it apparently dislodged itself. We also believe this is the pair that was getting into another neighbor's garden. We haven't seen either one since the last cold snap, so we are wondering if they survived. 
🌱
Thinking some may have tumbled from their perches last night. Pretty sure it will be raining iguanas tonight since we are under a frost advisory. It's cold. And windy.
Just sing... sing a song... Singing our way into Just sing... sing a song... 

Singing our way into the weekend.
"We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramse "We don't just see. We learn to see." ~ Russ Ramsey in Rembrandt is in the Wind
Now you see me... now you don't. Now you see me... now you don't.
"I started looking and listening. I realized that "I started looking and listening. I realized that work, like life, is shot through with poetry. It was everywhere. I was so taken with what I discovered that I wrote a book about it." @gyoung9751 
🌱
Whether you work in an office, a retail store, a restaurant, or at home... Whether you work on roads or on power lines, or on high buildings...Whether you collect trash or preach sermons, or care for your kiddos. Whether you do art, or weave words, or take photos of a common gallinule AKA moorhen AKA swamp chicken--it's all shot through with poetry.
🌱
So pay attention. Find a poem.
🌱
Read more at https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2023/01/10/its-poetry-at-work-day-2023/
Rising… Rising…
Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe Everyone needs a little balance in life. And maybe a beauty routine. And breakfast. Especially breakfast. I wonder if it consists of a few fire ants. I hope so. (Well, not mine. I'm having oatmeal with chia seeds. What are you having this morning?)
🌱
P.S. Happy Friday!
"Though your destination is not yet clear You can "Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life's desire." ~John O'Donohue 
🌿
A blessing for a new beginning in a new year. I'm sure he wrote it especially for me. At least I'm claiming it. Maybe it will speak to you, too.
🌿
Also, I'd really like this skirt --> 
🌿
Read the whole poem--> -->
🌿
Well, bummer... The whole page didn't print. Read it in the comments below.
"What precocity, a bird half the size Of an Anjou "What precocity, a bird half the size
Of an Anjou pear." ~ Stephen Kuusisto in "The Mockingbird on Central" (Find it in The Poets Guide to the Birds edited by Judith Kitchen and Ted Kooser)
🌱
"The morning pages are the primary tool of creative recovery." ~ Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way. 
🌱
I've been in a long creative drought, so I started morning pages--again. This time I've got a bit of an accountability group through @refineretreat's Refinery--which I finally also joined this year. I'll turn 74 this month. I'm not ready to grow old while I age--though everything does seem to take longer while time goes by faster.
🌱
#aweandwonder #tsaweandwonder
Tonight’s walk in the neighborhood. I’m still Tonight’s walk in the neighborhood. I’m still kinda amazed that out of all the places we could have ended up after moving from a place I said I’d never move from), here we are—planted right next to the northern Everglades. Six-plus years, and I still shake my head in wonder.
"So fancy is the world..." ~ Mary Oliver in "This "So fancy is the world..." ~ Mary Oliver in "This World." #aweandwonder #tsaweandwonder
Look, Mom! I can walk on water! #aweandwonder #tsa Look, Mom! I can walk on water! #aweandwonder #tsaweandwonder
Gazing into 2023 like… Let’s take it step by Gazing into 2023 like… 
Let’s take it step by step with hope and courage. Also I hope to be posting again more often.
🎉
Happy New Year!
The morning before the last morning of 2022. 🌴 The morning before the last morning of 2022. 
🌴
71 degrees. Heading to 83. I can live with that.
From the top of Brasstown Bald—the highest point From the top of Brasstown Bald—the highest point in Georgia at 4784 feet.
Winding roads… Winding roads…
Tonight's moon. It's kinda okay. Tonight's moon. It's kinda okay.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Get the Mug

Embrace the life you have t s poetry mug

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy is available HERE.

I Read Light

TSP-Red button

bibledude-net



Sponsor a Child

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 Sandra Heska King · Site by The Willingham Enterprise, LLC on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Log in