The Bird Feeder - Part 2

The Hermitage

March 29, 2019

Have you ever noticed that when He wants you to learn something He just seems to be really relentless?

Well, the Nail Spa meditation has more to it. One thing led to another, and this time it was about...

living alone.

I love the solitude I have in my little Hermitage. And, by damn, (yes, I’ve picked up some mild cursing since I stopped being a goody-two-shoes priest...but you wanted the real me...right?)...by damn, I’m self sufficient! I may live alone, be old and mobility impaired, but I can do it myself!

And here’s where the two-by-four came out from behind the door once again. But somehow this time it seemed more like the whip I talked about that the Lipizzaner Stallion lead trainer used to gently show the horse and rider exactly how he wanted them to perfect a step.

What was the step He wanted me to learn?

And then the gratitude burst over me, almost like a physical wave.

I may live by myself but I’m never alone!

That seems so obvious as I commit it to paper, but my ego seems to always want to ignore it, or hide it, or flee from it.

So I feel God wants me to do an inventory. Like most inventories, this one will be long, and probably boring to anyone but me. If this rings any bells with your on your spiritual journey I suggest you might read at least a few on my list.

But what I really suggest is that you stop, get out a piece of paper, and start your own inventory.

As I thought about my list I realized something important Andrea tried to teach me for years. It’s a whole different matter when it’s written down in black and white and not just swimming around in my fuzzy little brain.

So here goes. If you decide to read it I warn you it’s going to be more scattered and non-sequitur than you can imagine, cause I’m trying to let my fingers keep up with the torrent that’s coming out of my spirit. I have a feeling it will go on until I’m too tired to write.

MY INVENTORY OF BLESSINGS

• God, who’s the creator of all my blessings

• My family. That’s a hard one to list because once I start it just goes on and on…..

• Chris, Stephanie and Kate- who live right across the drive and do so many things for me that I can’t keep count. The other two grandchildren are scattered across the country but bring smiles to my heart every time I think of them.

• Hill, who is constantly ‘checking in’ to see how I’m doing. and is ready to drop everything Immediately if I need help. (He and Chris are my ‘backstops’ on my trips. They stand ready to bring me home from anywhere in the world that I might get ‘stuck’ for any reason.)

• Hill’s family, who, like Chris’s family, warm the cockles of my heart whenever I see them in my memory.

(I’m going to stop putting reasons behind the list because it will become way to long)

• Gayle and Jim

• Tracy and her family

• My friends (well, I want to qualify this one anyway...I have many, many acquaintances all of whom are special, but very few close friends. Each of you is extra special in your own way)

• My prayer partners

• The absolute strangers who appear at the most opportune times when I need help

• My grandmothers

• My dad and mom

• My Aunt Nelle

• My doctors and their staffs

• And on and on and on....

It may not seem like it, but were I to mention each of my blessings by name, this list would already be almost a hundred people long and I've only scratched the surface. And I have even started my physical blessings! My brain is reeling and I’ll probably think of many more as the day goes on...

But...See what I mean?

I may live by myself, but I’m never alone.

Maybe another day I’ll do a piece on Solitude vs. aloneness vs. loneliness.

Till then,

Thanks for traveling with me on my Spiritual Journey.