Thursday, May 19, 2022
Fran Meffen
Healing, Love & Peace
Over the last couple of months three words have been at the center of my meditation and in my prayers. May I continue to heal, and may others be healed, May I feel love and remind myself that God’s love is unconditional, there is enough for everyone and that I am wrapped in that love, and it shines forth from my compassionate heart and May I know peace in my life.
After listening and reading the news of war, mass shootings and more I have decided that what I can do in this moment is focus on healing, love and peace. What can this look like, what impact can I have in the Island of Sanity that Margaret Wheatley is asking for each of the Warriors to help create and expand. At St. John’s this has meant donating to the fund for the people of Ukraine, some of whom are personal friends that my sister and I love and pray for each day hoping that they will once again experience peace in their lives. It has meant working on my healing by loving myself and learning to embrace the love and support that continues to be offered when I come to church. There is the passing of the peace during service which renews my faith that peace can exist with relationships that are built from love and in our prayers in which I wish for healing, from the trauma of COVID, to the loss of parishioners, to the efforts of the countries surrounding Ukraine who have opened their doors to the millions of individuals, families, orphaned children and those who are also supporting the orphans of COVID.
While these local, state, national and international issues happening at the same time could lead to despair and hopelessness, I choose instead to put my faith in healing, love and peace. I remind myself each day that God is with me every day and that she will not abandon me and that I can lay my worries at her feet. I can take my hopes for healing, love and peace into action with prayer, with putting the Black Lives Matter sign back up in my yard after being safely put away during the winter snows, I can continue to write notes to many so that they know that they are loved and, in the doing, feel the love right back at me. I can end each day in prayers of gratitude reminding myself of all the good that has happened and yet doesn’t make into the paper or TV news reports.
We are so fortunate at St. John’s to have a community that supports the healing of so many by opening our building to groups like AA, who show so much love by being involved in welcoming the Afghan refugees to Portsmouth, who share the Peace of the Lord. Thank you for providing me and so many a place for healing, love and peace.
Namaste,
Fran