Author Archives: Francie

Pause. I’ve got peace like a river in my soul I’ve got a river in my soul I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul I’ve got a fountain in my soul I’ve got love like an ocean in … Continued

Pause. When this is over, may we never again take for granted A handshake with a stranger Full shelves at the store Conversations with neighbors A crowded theater Friday night out The taste of communion A routine checkup The school … Continued

Pause. Imagine with me for a moment – don’t worry, I’m not saying it’s real. Imagine if you can, that there has been not a calamity, but a great awakening. Pretend, just for a moment, that we all so loved … Continued

Pause. So may we know the hope that is not just for someday but for this day— here, now, in this moment that opens to us: hope not made of wishes but of substance, hope made of sinew and muscle … Continued

Pause. From all that is broken, let there be beauty. From what is torn, jagged, ripped, frayed, let there be not just mendings but meetings unimagined. May the god in whom nothing is wasted gather up every scrap, every shred … Continued

Pause. You could not stop it if you tried—how this blessing begins to sing every time it sees your face, how it turns itself in wonder merely at the mention of your name. It is simply how joy works, going … Continued

Pause. Wage peace with your breath. Breathe in firemen and rubble, breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds. Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields. Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple … Continued

Pause. There is a secret place. A radiant sanctuary. As real as your own kitchen. More real than that. Constructed of the purest elements. Overflowing with the ten thousand beautiful things. Worlds within worlds. Forests, rivers. Velvet coverlets thrown over … Continued

Pause. Rain comes down like prayer between the trees. The ground is soaked. A line of geese, singing, circles the valley as if wandering, going their distances. Trees, these prayers, reach down into mysteries, converse unheard. I walk among them. … Continued

Pause. Let the apple ripen on the branch beyond your need to take it down. Let the coolness of autumn and the breathing, blowing wind test its adherence to endurance, let the others fall. Wait longer than you would, go … Continued