ENCOURAGEMENT

One of the most poignant lines in a movie comes from the holiday classic, It's a Wonderful Life.  Joseph, the head angel summons Clarence, a rookie guardian angel, to give him a mission to help George Bailey.
"You sent for me, sir?"
"Yes, Clarence. A man down on earth needs our help."
Clarence asks, " Splendid! Is he sick?"  
Joseph answers, "No, worse, he's discouraged."  

I always get a little choked up at that point because I know that in my own experience getting over discouragement at times has been harder than healing from any injury or virus I've suffered.  Our bodies have built-in ways to deal with minor cuts, bruises, infections and other wounds.  But a wound of the heart or soul doesn't seem to just "fix itself" the way our bodies do. 

As I was planning the upcoming retreat, Women Encouraged - Finding the Wind Beneath Your Wings, the thought occurred to me that I can't remember the last time someone described themselves as "discouraged."  Maybe it's because we are less inclined these days to share our "weaknesses," or maybe people just don't recognize that they are discouraged, due to our fast pace lifestyle and stress.  But unlike our physical bodies, our hearts and souls need personal attention and an action plan to find our way back.

When we're discouraged, we need our friends to tell us how great (really) we are.  We need others to remind us that God is on our side...and that "this too shall pass."  We need some new perspectives...a multitude of counsel from those we respect.  We need to examine WHY we're discouraged...and where that issue originates.  We need to pray for ears to hear and for our hearts to be opened.  Maybe we need to loosen our grip or lower our expectations.  But all of this takes some intentional time...time we need to make...or take.

This Summer Retreat will focus on encouraging YOU...even if you are not discouraged...accentuating the positive in life is always helpful!  Please come and bring some of your best, trusted friends for a day of laughter, fun and encouragement! 

 

A POEM OF QUESTIONS

A friend says I should write more poetry.
It’s been awhile.  There’s been
death,
discouragement,
flooding,
regime changes,
shear laziness,

But who am I and what do I have to say? 
And who would care?
Is there a poem I could write that would
touch
or transform
or move anyone?

The old adage is: write what you know. 

So, do I write about the gnarly sycamore tree
which, though it dons a camouflage cover,
is always spotted where water christens its roots? 
Or do I describe the delicate Pink Lady Slipper orchid,
whose enigmatic, masculine form springs only from soil
made acid by
worn sandstone,
broken shale,
time?

Should my poem ask the reader,
“Did you know you can read the land this way?”
But who cares, really?  Isn’t land just for
buying and selling
building upon
or harvesting from?

Is it a waste of words for a poem to beckon others
to consider life (aren't people too busy to read poetry?)
on a park bench,
a trail
or a bridge above
a lyrical stream?

Should the poem invite them to stop listening,
just for those few moments in time
to the voices of culture,
of family,
or the lies,
they tell
themselves,

and listen to the song of the red-eyed vireo
chanting his mnemonic mantra?
“See me” “Up here.” “Here I am” 

Can a poem, even a silly one that doesn’t
say anything, just asks questions, inspire?
After it's written perhaps someone will
read this poem, then stand barefoot on
spongy grass,
rotting leaves,
hard, hewn wood,
raise their golden face, hands open
to the sun,
the black, rolling clouds,
the slice of moon,
and shout, maybe for the first time,

 “See me!  Down here!  Here I am!”

 
Cindy Steffen
May 2011

 

SECRET BIRD MIGRATION

Today is International Migratory Bird Day, held annually on the second Saturday in May.  Not very well known, or even important, to most people...but a miracle none the less!  Each spring, billions of birds (neo-tropicals) who have spent our winter in Central or South America, begin a very long, and sometimes treacherous, trek to familiar breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada.  Generally, they migrate at night, stopping for periods of time along the way to feed, rest and brush up on their mating songs.  If you are not looking for them or paying attention to the change in bird songs filling the air, you will miss this Great Migration!  And these are of some of the most beautiful birds in North America!

My birdwatching perch on the ridge

The Audubon Society has designated several Ohio Important Bird Areas (IBA's).  These are specific habitats able to provide premium food and nesting resources for land and water birds.  Prairie Pond Woods is located smack-dab in the middle of two of them, Shawnee State Forest and The Edge of Appalachia Preserve. While taking a retreat at Prairie Pond Woods in late April and early May, I was able to spot over 25 of these migrating species.  Some will be staying at the retreat to raise a brood or two, some will move on to more northern states and provinces and some will head to the Boreal Forest Region in Canada.  This is an extremely long journey and I am humbled each year when they return, and honored to be able to provide what they need in the prairie, on the pond or in the woods!

Below are a few stock photos of some of the warblers and other birds that grace the property each year.  Most are not mine, as I don't possess the camera or inclination to get these great close-ups.  Enjoy the beauty and wonder!

 Black & White Warbler...hard to spot as it tends to crawl along trunks and branches...but easy to hear.

 Black-throated Green Warbler...heard (and barely seen high in the canopy) on the day before I left the retreat.

 Blue-winged warbler...we play a game of hide and seek in the cedars...I usually lose.

 Hooded Warbler...just a lovely bird that hangs low down by the spring making him easy to see.

 Yellow-rumped Warbler...acutally had one of these stick around this winter...acting like he owned the maple tree where the feeder hangs

 Pine Warbler...not all that flashy...but one of the first to show up and now nesting in a pine tree by the deck!

 The ubiquitous Prairie Warbler...King and Queen of the Prairie. 

One is nesting in this small cedar tree.

 Wilsons Warbler

The Scarlet Tanager...kept hearing his Robin-like song up in the canopy...then after 3 days I finally spotted it 

near the retreat house!

Bluebird Babies!

 Song Sparrow nest in Cedar next to garage

Phoebe nest above garage on the motion detector light

MEANDERINGS & MORELS - A REFLECTION

Taking a walk...

I do it quite frequently, only maybe not the kind some might be imagining right now. There are no Nike cross-trainers, or clothes that wick moisture away, or pedometers or disciplined power movements (not that I couldn’t use a bit more of that approach). Generally there is just meandering - looking up, looking down, looking at things close up, taking in the big view.  And then always waiting for the joyful moment of beauty, discovery or inspiration.  Recently, I’ve begun to see parallels in my desire and approach in going for a walk…and my desired approach in communing with God.

 
The most recent was last month, when I had to cancel the retreat, due to a washed out road to the retreat house.  Building a business whose "target market" tends to be a fairly small niche of nature lovers and contemplatives can be hard enough...without the devastation of torrential rains.  Heart by Nature Retreats was born out of a passion to share the joy and glory of the created world, and to help others discover the benefits of just "being" ...say on a hillside of dwarf larkspur or yellow wood poppies or spending a quiet hour in the woods.  But unless you see that field or sit in that woodland cathedral, you have no idea what you're missing...and many people are missing these beautiful and reflective moments.  Yet sitting in my Adirondack chair bemoaning this dilemma to God felt all too familiar and overdone. So I just got up, grabbed my camera and set out for who-knows-where, feeling a little discouraged. 

Within 45 minutes of just meandering through the different habitats at Prairie Pond Woods, I was jogging back to the retreat house, smiling ear to ear and carrying in my folded shirt a harvest of 25 morel mushrooms never before found on the property in that abundance. It was a grace of God to me personally. A teachable moment, when God quoted me the bumper sticker, “All who wander are not lost.” I began to realize how anxious I had become about many things and that maybe it was time to let it all go and rest. Maybe it was time to focus on holding the hand of God rather than the outcomes of my efforts.  Maybe it was time to just spiritually meander with God…
 
For too many years seeking God for me was akin to the first type of “walk” – structured, scheduled, studied and full of goal-oriented discipline. The God-image I used to have was a school teacher, waiting for me to sit down, shut-up, read my Bible, pray my list and get about the business of figuring it all out. (inappropriately referred to as my  "quiet time," if you could have monitored my internal life) Getting to know God seemed like kind of a burden.  The residuals of that sometimes still remain.

So maybe all who wander within their faith are not lost...or mis-guided...or rebellious.  Maybe when they barely know what to say or how to say it because so many prayers have been left unanswered, they are not unfocused, they are just learning to listen.  Maybe all who wander within the scriptures, finding more questions than answers, are not wishy-washy, they are learning to question old assumptions.  Maybe all who wander with God throughout the day, just aware of the Presence and grateful in heart, are not undisciplined, in fact they are, perhaps, the most disciplined. 
 
It has taken many, many years for the truth of “abiding in the vine” to go the 18 inches from my head to my heart, and then some unknown distance further to my spirit.  Maybe meandering is a term that shows age…or maybe it embodies a wise way to discover true communion with God.  Now, when I begin each day, it is open, reflective and prayerful in a way that is free of expectation and performance. I seek to experience the “light burden” as I learn about Jesus…the what, when, how, who and where he did what he did, and said what he said. I'm exploring how to pay attention to the ways the Spirit works in my life, both seen and unseen, in its themes, archetypes and dreams. I want to listen to the whispers of that Spirit and experience the call of a loving mother and father…God's equal natures.

Now I know there are scriptures that exhort us to “run and finish the race” and I’m not suggesting that discipline should be ignored. In fact, one of the most profound things anyone ever said to me is, “The goal of all true discipline is freedom.” But all too often lately I see Christians more interested in seeking “being right” (which can involve over-discipline, arrogance, performance, judgment, etc.) than in seeking “righteousness,” which is the living out and longing for all things to be set in their right relationship (involving humility, sorrow, dependence and faith).

Any marathon runner will tell you that it is important to pace yourself for a long-distance run. But maybe the zeal with which many people begin and continue to live their spiritual lives can’t be sustained. All too often many burn out, some become curmudgeons and some get smaller and smaller as they dig in their theological heals.  Know any people or pastors like that?   So, maybe after thirty-something years down this path I've gained a bit of wisdom…and meandering towards the finish line is just what is needed. 

Reflection

1. Is there an area in my life where I spin my wheels…getting nowhere and feeling unfruitful? How could I relax this expectation and allow God to show me a better approach? 
   
2. Is there a morning or afternoon I could take a meandering walk, either alone, with my partner or children? What if we just walked and observed all that is in our backyard? 

FROGS & TOADS OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS!...

...Or so it seemed to me and my husband when we sauntered down to the pond one warm evening last weekend at Prairie Pond Woods.  The next night we took our super-charged, zillion-candlelight flashlight down, along with the camera, to see if we could capture this amphibious orgy that seemed to be going on.  There must have been hundreds of green frogs and toads floating, fighting and you-know-what-ing all over the surface of the water.  Although the fog only allowed us to see about halfway out on the pond with the light, it was still a bit eerie to see a blanket of little, glowing eyes shining back at us (look closely).

Normally, the call of the green frog sounds like a single loose banjo string being plucked, and the toad call is an extended trill...but on this night we also heard a high, sweet cooing sound. Our photography at the pond was short-lived, maybe about 20 minutes, because the noise created by the spring peepers surrounding us was deafening!   Amphibians put on quite the show!!  Below are a few of the better shots and the best we could do on such a foggy and overcast night.