Even using a road map, printed directions and a GPS, I can still find myself driving in circles. I'm one of those directionally-disabled people who can get lost on her own block. Landmarks help me find my way, but I often get anxious that I'm not where I ought to be.

I'm a lot like that in my spiritual life too, looking for signs from above that I'm on the right track. Sometimes I get caught up in deadlines and to-do lists as I pray, asking for the perfect job by summer or that big purchase by the holidays, but my time zone is not divine. All in due time.

In the meantime, I find my signs in nature: the cherry blossoms burst back onto the scene at the appointed time each year. The bumblebees rumble back into town. They don't deliberate or procrastinate. They just buzz on in and pollinate. Pray for the flowering of your dreams today.

Praise Song

Praise to You
Who whispers to us
in a spring breeze,
in the sigh of leaves overhead,
in the chuckle of a running stream.

Praise to You
Who cries out to us
in the roar of waves
endless,
ever present,
all encompassing,
making You known.

Praise to You
Who calls to us
in the pop and creak of ice,
in the thump of snow sliding
in the stillness of a frozen day.

Praise to You
Who puts Your song
in the hearts of the birds
and in all who gather
to sing to You.
Praise to You.

"WHAT ARE THE 'NATURAL' THINGS THAT INSPIRE YOU?"