I have been enjoying the wonderful reflections of my friend Rev. Frank Showers. I met Frank when he came to speak at our community Valley Mosaic. He is a spiritual adviser and Lutheran Minister and currently resides in Chicago Illinois with his son. Here is one of Frank’s latest email reflections. Feel free to contact Frank if you would like to be added to his email list.

May the sun bring you new energy by day;

may the moon softly restore you by night,

may the rain wash away your worries,

may the breeze blow new strength into your being.

-Apache Blessing

From what source do you get your strength? It is a good thing to think about. We get it from our own determination. and from persons who support us.  These are all God given entities, but the one we usually forget is mentioned in this Apache blessing. That is the force of nature itself. Do we realize how much nature affects us?

During the past summer I was living in a studio apartment just off Lake Michigan. I had just moved to Chicago and was waiting to move into a house with my son and dog. It was an anguishing time. I was grieving my losses of friends and job in Pa. I was awaiting a house and a new job in my new home. One big influence in this time was a 7 minute walk to the Lake.

There was something about endless waters, the cascading waves on the beach and the bright sun that encouraged me. It was a powerful prayer time for me. Like the waves I could let my anxieties dissolve as they did into the shore. Pinned down by worries over the future, I could imagine being held by an eternal One whose love is without bounds as seen in the lake’s distant horizon.

Strength comes from nature even when we do not acknowledge it. How marvelous it is when we do. God’s grace offers another way to support us. Thanks Be To God!

Try it: Observe where you are weak, then open yourself to some element of nature. Let nature’s grace empower you.

So Blessed,

H. Frank

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