July 4th

4th of July Freedom

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

July 4th has been a major holiday in my life.

 When I was growing up in Virginia my grandfather and grandmother held a family reunion every July 4th on their farm on the Mattaponi River for my grandmother’s Smith relatives. Watermelon, homemade ice cream cooling in the cellar, fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, five kinds of pies, chocolate pound cake. I was in charge of name tags.

We arrived in Little Rock on July 4, 1976 to start our careers in pediatric radiology and pediatric ENT with three small children. We made the St. Margaret’s July 4th service a family tradition where a political speaker is always the preacher, the bishop often is the celebrant, and Episcopal choirs from the Little Rock churches join together to lead us in patriotic hymns followed by a picnic on the grounds.  We have learned to be cheerleaders for the July 4th Firecracker 5 K race and later watch our children and grandchildren enter watermelon eating contests and dive for money in a swimming pool and stay up late to watch fireworks.

The 4th of July is about freedom, freedom to do all the things I have just described without fear, freedom to worship, freedom from fear because all the branches of our government are strong with capable and talented leaders who proclaim the ideals of freedom for our citizens of our country and the rest of the world. If something is not right, I have the freedom to speak out about issues.  This is at the top of my gratitude list tonight, freedom to speak out.

People who come for spiritual direction can’t help from bringing in political issues at some point. I try to remind them and myself to keep these issues in our prayers, but we are also called to speak out as articulately as we can when fear becomes the norm and masquerades as taking away these freedoms to prevent the fear of loss of freedoms. Our job is to do our part to remind others that the kingdom of God is not a kingdom of fear but of love. Our freedom does not depend on harming others but on loving others.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Voice of Nature

Nature’s Voice

“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked..

They are like trees planted by streams of water; which yield their fruit in its season, and their leave do not wither." Psalm 1: 1, 3.

We have been watching the rain come across the lake at Whitefish. As it reaches our shore on a gentle breeze the small leaves of the willows and aspen trees move back and forth producing a unique swishing sound. The vibrations caused by the wind and the rain on the fluttering leaves sounds like some message the trees, the wind, and the rain are trying to tell us. Is it a cry for help? Are these the sound of Nature’s tears? I don’t believe it is a thank you for how we have cared for our natural world.  

There is also a smell that comes with the sound of rain. It has been called earthy. It is thought to be the smell that comes as the earth is moved by the rain. Is it the fragrant perfume of the earth calling and enticing us to come and get to know it better and care for it?

Almost every person I talk to affirms their feeling of God’s presence when they are outside in the natural world. The trees, the sun, the moon, the rain, the flowers, the animals, the mountains, the sea, the earth are healers. They are mood changers, It is difficult not to be grateful looking across a peaceful lake in the cool mountain air and watching a mother duck care for and gather her eighteen ducklings as the rain has stopped. She makes a distinctive sound as well, maybe telling her ducklings that there is still danger when we are around 

We are called to care for our churches and places of worship where we experience God. We are called to care for our friends who teach us about the love of God.  We are likewise called to care for the natural world which also calls us back to the Creator God.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Cloud of Unknowing

Cloud of Unknowing

“The universes which are amenable to the intellect can never satisfy the instincts of the heart.” The Cloud of Unknowing, Anonymous

Today we are flying back to Arkansas from Montana and hope to see many blue skies above the clouds. The older I get, the more anxious I seem to be on travel days.  I wake up in the early morning and look out on the Whitefish Lake to see a large cloud just above the water. It seems to be getting larger and getting closer to the water. There is no sound except for an occasional crow calling nearby and a slight breeze rustling the aspen leaves in the trees beside the beach. The quiet, the cloud now turning into fog that is more like a whisper as it approaches the lake gives this spot of northern Montana a mystical countenance.

The 14th century book, The Cloud of Unknowing, by Anonymous also is a writing about Christian mysticism. We call something mystical if it is not obvious to our senses or minds. Something happens when we see such beauty as the clouds and the lake in this cool early morning that we cannot explain the experience by what we know. It calms my soul on a day when I pray for calm and patience and flexibility. We know that our experience tells us we have known this presence before when we took time to be present to it.

That is what I hope has been reinforced to me on this trip with my family. I hope I will stay present to the moment and not miss again the many clouds of unknowing that are now disappearing as I have almost finished writing about them. I am going to stop so I can experience them one last time and keep them in my album of experiencing the majestic beauty of the precious present.

Joanna joannaseibert.com