Follow the thread of love
It will lead you home
When darkness, evil, fog or fear
Obscure your vision
Wait until you see it again
Don’t move until you do
It will break through
It always does
Move towards it now
And learn to let it
Pass through you
Change and transform you
It takes time
But if you do
It will spread out behind you
Like a trail or a path
Or rays of light
And others will find
Their way home too
© 2021 Julie Clark
In Memory
I call a few friends
Who used to live in China
To ask about Ramadan
What foods they shared
For Iftar
And what it meant
It was nutritious and delicious
Huge meals of soup,
rich and meaty main dishes and
Fresh and dried fruits and nuts
It meant
Love and connection
Solidarity
With family, friends and neighbors
I find it painful to ask
And painful for them to remember
Since they have left their homeland
Since the lockdown
Since the genocide of their people
They haven’t heard news
Of their families
For too long
They have not heard
Their voices or their laughter
Or words of hope
That this will end
And life could be normal
And they could celebrate
Ramadan again
With love and connection
Solidarity
With family, friends and neighbors
In Imagination
(When I lived in a city called Gulja, I remember hearing mothers calling their children to come home. They would sing their names out the doorways or open windows. The children would start making their way home when they heard their names.)
If only I could hear her voice again. She called me from the window, singing my name down the street. The sun had set. I knew it was time to come home and eat the delicious meal she prepared every night for us. I would skip home throwing open the door to find her in her apron serving the food to my father and brother. She would nudge me to the sink to wash my hands. My father would tussle my hair, my brother would give me a playful punch. We would eat our meal together, savoring the flavors and the love we had for each other.
In my dreams I hear her calling, singing my name down the street. I can never find my way home. There is always an ocean to cross or a gate I can’t get through or soldiers blocking my way.
For all those
Waving a Jesus flag
Big shoes to fill
Big steps to follow
Better get started
Developing love
Self-sacrificing love
Takes a lifetime
Posers will be revealed
Examine our hearts
Whose path am I on?
No idols here
No judgements either
Fruit will reveal
Better than a flag
Who I serve
Who I truly love
© 2021 Julie Clark
Let us
Search for the light
Like wise persons
Follow it
Come out of the blinding
Darkness
Shake it off
Shake ourselves awake
And free
Let love
Come down
Melt the hardness
In our hearts
Let the tears
Flow
Do their work
Break us open
Just as the rain
Finds a way
Through the earth’s
Hardened crust
Look up
Rise up
Follow the light
Our paths
Need examining
Need pondering
Where am I headed?
Who am I?
Who am I becoming?
Is this who I want to be?
Is this path leading to life?
Leading to light?
Leading to love?
If not
Step off
We can change our course
We can grow
We can choose
We still have breath
We are still alive
© 2021 Julie Clark
(This was a prayer/thought I had Saturday morning before we heard the results of our recent presidential election.)
Are you counting?
Like the votes are being counted
One by one, day after day?
Are you counting
My every thought
Every move
Every deed
Weighing on scales?
No, not counting
Loving
Pouring it out
Day after day
The love that covers
Every mistake
Wayward thought
Angry word
Unkind action
Hateful look
The self-pity
Self focus
The pride
All of it
Again and again
Until it is covered
Until I learn mercy
And do the same
© 2020 Julie Clark
What is this division you bring?
What about peace on earth, goodwill towards all?
Is it about our choice?
To love and serve
Or horde and kill?
Do you come to us at our borders in T-shirts and flip flops
Or camped out in our city parks?
One more opportunity to choose
As you ask, “Who will you serve?
Me or mammon?”
Ok, I choose you.
Now I have enemies.
What did you say about enemies?
I have to love them too?
Now that is hard to do.
Oh, you did that.
I see. Is that how this works?
Love changes everything.
Love is the force that brings peace
Far and near and finally
Everywhere.
How long?
“Until all is changed and all submit
To love
Singing praises!”
Your ways are better
Your ways are higher
Than ours.
What is impossible for humans
Is possible for you.
Now we must
Get up on the highway
Of your ways
Watch and see
What you can do with love-
The strongest force there is
Moving mountains and
Raising valleys.
May we make the choice
To love
Rather than continue
This madness.
© 2019 Julie Clark
I have been hearing this phrase more and more lately. It’s a handy little phrase. I’ve used it myself many times when I am struggling to understood an issue or a situation. It is true that life is complicated, human beings are complicated, but I feel like this phrase can be used now as an excuse, a way of not getting involved. It is a way of distancing oneself from a messy perhaps dangerous situation. There are numerous situations going on around the world that are both messy and dangerous.
I wonder in a revised version of the Good Samaritan story if one of the religious leaders who crossed the street away from the poor guy beaten and left for dead may have mumbled to himself as he hurried away – “It’s complicated…maybe he deserved what he got or maybe he has a contagious disease, or worse if I stop and help maybe someone will get me next!”
Last night I attended a vigil, calling for an end of the inhumane detention of immigrants in our country. I was heartened to see the church where the vigil was hosted packed out. More and more people are outraged at the news that is coming out and wanting to get involved or at least learn about what is happening. It was helpful to hear from women who themselves endured the indignity of being locked up and treated as a criminal. (No it is not illegal to seek asylum.) Both women mentioned how terrible it was to witness the way children were treated. One saw the the agents tearing children away from their parents.
There are numerous things we can do to help. We can raise our voices for the voiceless. We can contact our representatives both federally and locally. We can volunteer, we can donate, we can educate ourselves and help others understand. We each can do something.
Let faith have wings that lift us to pray
Let hope have eyes that look for solutions
Let love have feet that move us to action
May we take a risk to love our neighbors who are in great need rather than turn our backs on them because “it’s complicated”.
I do not know what the answers are to good immigration reform. I need to learn. I do know inhumane treatment of immigrants is not one them. Another phrase I am hearing that I like much better is “This is not a political issue it is a moral issue.”
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com
The mysteries
Of all we do not know
They are more than
The riches some heap
While others go without
They are more than
The wars against body and soul
The what ifs and the whys
The pit of sorrows we fall into
The crushing weight of grief
The mysteries
Of all we do not know
The greatest is love
That holds us when all is gone
That leads us to treasure
At the end of a dark tunnel
It runs through us and to us
Lifting us and helping us
To breathe and to live
And one day hope again
© 2019 Julie Clark
(Marianne helping me with a knotty problem)
She has gone away
Released her breath and spirit
We have grief and tears
Lonely is this life
Soul trapped in body shell
Freed for true union
She carried many
Can too much love break your heart
Apparently so
© 2018 Julie Clark
We are in the midst of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims. It is the 9th month in the Muslim Lunar calendar. This is when all able-bodied Muslims will fast from food, drink and other physical needs from sunrise to sunset. It is a time of prayer and purification to become closer to God. The Arabic word for God is Allah. Ramadan marks when the first chapters of the Quran were given to the Prophet Muhammad.
Ramadan is the 4th of 5 Pillars of Islam. These Pillars define what it means to be a Muslim. Here is a list of the 5 Pillars:
The season of Ramadan is a season of joy and celebration. It is also a season of generosity and kindness. Although the fasting can be difficult the month is punctuated with celebratory meals after the sun goes down. These are called iftars. They are often celebrated together with families and friends, as well as community events. This is a great opportunity to join an iftar and meet your neighbors. My husband and I have several days marked on our calendars to join an iftar. Some of these are interfaith events, hosted by a community of Muslims. Some churches are also getting involved and hosting iftars for their Muslim friends and neighbors. This can be a time to build friendships and understanding. Why not check with your local mosque and see if there are any such gatherings that you could join? Or ask a Muslim friend, co-worker or neighbor if you could join them for an iftar? Be prepared for some delicious food and warm hospitality. You may be eating and staying up later than what is normal for you, but the benefits of making or strengthening existing friendships is worth being a little sleepy the next day.
I have heard stories from some of my immigrant friends who grew up in the middle east how Christian, Muslim, and Jewish neighbors would make food for each other during their holidays. This would be a custom worth reviving in our multi-faith and diverse communities. Maybe you will be inspired to host an iftar for your friends and neighbors. Just make sure you use halal meat or make a vegetarian meal. Costco carries halal meat as well as neighborhood halal stores. I have 2 in my neighborhood. This is one way to build love and peace in our world so desperately needing it. One step at a time, right where we live.
