Twenty-One Gifts

He has made everything beautiful in its time...He has put eternity into (our) hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Eccl. 3:11

Surely all souls experience desert-times and oasis-times in these life-times.

There are seasons and stretches and spans

of scarcity and of abundance,

of seeking life and of finding life,

of feeling lifeless and feeling filled with life,

or of something in between.

Sometimes in the span of a day.

I remember one particularly significant day, twenty-one years ago today...

Twenty-one years ago today, a baby girl was about to arrive.

But minutes before her birth, her heart rate swung low...

And in the hush, the reality was clear: she may or may not come to be.

But twenty-one years ago, the baby girl's heart regained strength just in time -

and she was Born! And somehow to this day, she continues to surprise us

as she marches to the beat of her own creative heart,

trusting its rhythm and being led by its amazing timing... "just in time."

Soon to follow, nineteen and a half years ago,

her baby sister was about to arrive.

But months before little sister's birth, a blood complication in pregnancy was found...

And in the hush, the reality was clear: she may or may not come to be.

But nineteen and a half years ago, this baby girl overcame the obstacles-

and she was Born! And somehow to this day, she continues to surprise us

in overcoming any set-backs,

challenging herself and others to keep believing..."just in time."

Just in good time. Just in God's time.

Even a desert teems with life we may not initially see.

We can't say why these blessings came to be.

But the reality is clear: there are gifts everywhere we may or may not see,

or may not get to see, yet.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Eccl. 3:1.

At its very best,

life seeks life and

life seeks to provide for life.

So goes the ebb and flow of family,

however "family" is construed and connected -

of learning how to care for the bodies and souls of each other,

and of learning to Be in the presence

of that which may-or-may-not-come-to-be...

of wants or needs,

of hopes or dreams,

of time-lines or transitions,

of togetherness or independence.

And it is within the combination of pain and the pleasure,

of family (Family) we have the ability to learn about purity,

about purifying our hearts.

Our prayer, or rather "God's prayer in us" of

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

...so that purified hearts can rightly see how to show pure love for the other,

in the midst of that which may-or-may-not-come-to-be.

The Words of the Lord are pure words. Psalm 12:6

...and purity is a process when we replace our words with God's Words,

so that God's Words can come-to-be in us.

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

... and purified hearts can rightly know and see God, right now...

God in us, God in others, God in all of life, Good in the midst.

What gifts to give for a 21st birthday?

What gifts do I wish for her, for her sister, for all women?

For all men and for all children? For all families?

For all of us living and for all of life?

I wish for 21 Gifts. I wish for 21 meditations.

But not just any meditations. Not just feel-good statements. Not surface-mind silliness,

Not superficial statements without substance, like shoots that start to emerge but have no roots.

We need meditations which are Real Reminders.

Meditate within your heart...and put your trust in the Lord. Psalm 4

Real Reminders connect us to the longevity of history, to be with us in the present and carry us into our future.

Real Reminders have withstood the test of time - otherwise they are a waste of time, a temporary novelty.

Real Reminders need roots in Truth to be True for us and True for others.

Real Reminders can guide our thoughts and actions,

foster our faith, become the bedrock of our beliefs, and help us to heal.

I wish for the awareness of 21 Reminder-Gifts already Given,

gifts that each life already has within itself, gifts that can be seen and made manifest in self and others -

gifts of Exceptional Power, Extraordinary Presence, and of Eternal Peace.

I wish for these 21 Gifts of Reminders to become Gifts of Understanding and Reality.

The more you understand, the more you love;

the more you love, the more you understand.

They are two sides of one reality.

The mind of love and the mind of understanding are the same.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

When these reminders boldly begin with the Words of our God, the Great I AM,

we can start Beginning to see how the Alpha and the Omega is in the midst of it all.

So, in honor of a 21-year-old Miracle,

here they are, anchored in the ancient and present for the Present.

May these mindful meditations be spoken. embraced. claimed. known. loved. and true. for every being.

May they be sung with exuberance, whispered in a phrase, or silently spoken in the heart:

"I am" or "May I know that I am...,"said for self,

and "You are" or "May they know that they are...," said for others. All others.

It will take practice, but may these be True Gifts we can embody in this lifetime.

1. I am a Child of God.

2. I am Blessed to be a Blessing.

3. I am Adopted and Accepted into God's Family.

4. I am Forgiven and Able to forgive.

5. I am Redeemed and Made New day by day.

6. I am Known by God, Chosen, and Made to know His Will.

7. I am Made for a Reason and Protected for God's purpose.

8. I am the Love Letter of God, Alive for Christ to live in me.

9. I am Enough and I have Enough.

10. I am a Cheerful and Generous giver, through God.

11. I am Brave, Fearless, Strong and Victorious.

12. I am an Overcomer.

13. I am Able to make Good decisions.

14. I am Made to Shine.

15. I am of God and With God - so All things are possible.

16. I am Heard, Understood and Comforted.

17. I am never alone.

18. I am holy and complete.

19. I am safe and at peace.

20. I am connected to the Infinite and to infinity.

21. I am Made by Love, for Love, to Love: I am Loved and I am Love.

Happy Birthday to our Dearest #21 today!

Happy Every Day to All as we meditate on the abundant gifts we have right now within us...

the gifts of Life!

*References to Biblical scripture:

1) Rom 8, 1 John; 2) Eph 1, 1 Peter; 3) Eph 1, 2; 1 John; 4) Eph 1,2, Cor 2; 5; John 3;

5) Eph 1&2, Cor 4&5, Eph 4, Isaiah 43; 6) Eph 3 & 5, Rom 8, Jer 29; 7) Rom 8, 1 Cor 7, Eph 1&6,

Psalm 139, Esther 4; 8) 2 Cor 3, Gal 2; 9) 1 Cor 3, 4; Eph 2; 10) 2 Cor 9, Gal 6; 11) 1 Cor 16, 1 John,

Hebr 12, Phil 4, 1 Cor; 12) 1 John 5; Eph 1&2, Ex. 14; 13) Rom 12, 1 Cor 1, Prov. 3, 2 Tim 14) Phil 2;

15) Matt 20; 16) 1 John 5, Psalm 4, Psalm 56; 17) Josh 1, John 15; 18) Rom 11,2 Cor 6,

Col 2; 19) Rom 8, Eph 3, Psalm 4; 20) John 3; 1 John; 21) Col 1, Psalm 143