Day of Adventure and Wonder in the air.

Morning started like no other. With raspberry jam on my toast, which is a first as I forgot marmalade was finished the day before; wondering how I could have forgotten to replace it with the endless list of task completed running through my memory, as I departed to the city. 
I knew adventure and wonder were in the air. 

Still having a stillness and excitement in my heart from talking to my loved ones the day before, I felt like I could take on the world. Felt my heart still overflowing with love.

Jumping on the train that was packed brought back memories of traveling overseas, especially Japan in the morning rush to get to work. 

My commute takes about 45mins, in this time my head is lost in a book. At the moment my train book is 'Cross and Passion' the history of our order. It gives me a little more insight into foundress Elizabeth Prout and leaves me in owe how the Lord works. Its challenging on a personal level as the words start to form shape off the page, spinning around me connecting me to history and the very depth of what Im standing on. 

As I arrived into the city I knew I was a moment early so got to stick with my normal Thursday tradition of escaping into the Cathedral to kneel in prayer for half hour before soul work begins. 

This time I have started to treasure, I walk into the side wing of the Cathedral where I can see the altar which looks a little similar to the one at my high school Sacred Heart. 

Here I escape from the odd tourist leaving me able to just kneel in peace and Lord presence to place before Him my loved ones, my gratitude and also polite request of more companions on the journey, to do His work with all our hearts. 

On this day, after a short period organ notes started to rain out from the pipes straight up into the wooden beams, letting it bounce off the curves showering down within the walls. Familiar psalms identified, gospel acclamations, Amens, Holy's and 

almighty songs of praise. There is no escape from the language of music that fills me up sending me out into the secular maze until I reached my morning destination of the homeless shelter. 

I can now type that Im a master of onion chopping, dicing and slicing. I felt like I was Julie Child from the movie, Julie and Julia; having practice session for how to cut onions. I chopped enough onions to feed approx 1000 meals. Dicing some for stir fry, stew, soup, and just dicing.... This took me two an half hours! I have to admit all last night I could smell onion and then this morning I told sister I couldn't get it off my hands, when she informed me it would be in my nose! A day of smelling onion hehe. 

After this task I then went to dishes, which I didn't mind as it allowed me to go auto pilot letting my mind wonder to the afternoons music practice where we are singing at palm sunday and still don't have an exiting song! 

I will admit that Im very efficient at the dishes, after all once a system is arranged then away I go. 

This gave me moments when I paused, just stood looking out into the dinning room watching, listening.... 

If there was one thing that I took from the day, from the moment of invisiblity... the words dwell from my heart - 

Stay in love

Me been me, the thought runs past questioning if ever found that love place in the first place which would make it very hard to stay in love if never been there. 

The image of love could be directly related to the image of Jesus... 

Jesus is about getting into heaven. 

Jesus is about getting 'saved' as I heard an old lady say on the street corner one afternoon. 

Jesus as a prophet, Jesus as a father, Jesus as a brother... 

Jesus is about becoming good..... 

At times I am left with the unease sense the world has put Jesus into a check-off list, having rungs on a ladder, the morality we pull on to dress for success!! 

Falling in love, staying in love - WORLD please open your ears to what seduces across the radio waves, what newspapers woo us with, what billboards tease us with and music videos find hard to sell!!! 

Reality teaches me, when the world's selling illusions to dress up LOVE, while the church is selling law dressed up as good news - guess where the next generation are stating to line up!!

Looking out into the dinning room I realise that our faith is deeply connected to our senses and our heart, or the sensual world will easily break down our faith and steal our heart. 

Oh my Jesus, if he hadn't passionately wooed me, you - the world eventually will! 

Leaving a bitter taste in my mouth watching these souls that seem so damned not just by the weather or the hand they play.  i search my inner mind, my heart for a piece of wisdom to lift me - 

"I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sends me..." 

I search the Scriptures as I know they teach me how to put one foot in front of the other, how to fall in love, live in love, dance for joy and celebration in love. 

Leaving me feel as the I turn to wash another soup bowl, that the content has warmed the soul of my Christ at the table, how the earth under our feet, the indian summer rain falling against the window and the beauty beneath the coat of street dust that is present all around me in all this brazen glory - this is for us, us, us. 

There are so many gifts of love, so many ways to love, feel it in your veins, taste it on your lips, feel it before you, the wooing love of the Lord. He's writing it into the world, in His Word, in a million ways 

You're more than your hands so. 

You're more than your hands have. 

You're more than how other hands measure you. 

You are what is written on the Lords hands;

Safe. Held. His. Beloved.