In The Midst of Grace - Disposition Days

Help me Lord just to be..

To be in the midst of Your GRACE,

Mindful of Your touch:

Deeply healing........Pearl of great price,

Powerfully building........Walls of Jasper...

Grounded in righteousness,

Secure in the Master's Hand.

Gloria Taliotis Oct. 15 2011

God's Grace at Dawn - Disposition Days

At peace in Your hand,

I meld to Your molding.

Anticipate and wonder....

...A little bit of angst Lord..

Just for spice and spark!

Here I am Lord,

As I sit and ponder. 

Make me ever mindful,

As you whisper words of love,

That YOU are the Potter,

And I the clay.

Gloria Taliotis October 10 2011

Grace In the Midst

It was late fall in southern Ontario at a wonderful retreat area called Crieff Hills. Walking along a path one misty cool morning with my friends, we came upon various nature scenes which called us to comment upon. One thing in particular that morning caught my eye and whispered to my heart. Stop; take note; there is a lesson for you to learn here. What was it? Slowly the lesson unfolded before me. Not all at once; bit by bit; one step at a time along the path. Let it settle and meld around you; become part of you.

Stark spindly bushes prolific with tiny juicy purple berries lined the path we were on. No leaves on the bushes, just branches filled with deep purple berries. From his perch on these bushes, a little bird cocked his head at me in a most jaunty way. As I drew near, half an arms length away, he was not perturbed, just plunged his perky little beak into the luscious purple berry on the branch.

I stilled and thought of that small tree. It looked unclothed, no leaves, stark against the evergreens. At a time when most fruit had fallen or been harvested, these branches held onto their abundance, offering it up to these perky little creatures full of anticipation, and joy in the receiving.

Focus again. A stark branch. The dressing and glory of leaves had been stripped away. But still there is abundance and beauty here. Sustenance for body and soul. I thought of being sifted as wheat- chaff from the grain, stripped of all that is not necessary but for sustenance and proliferation. Here is a frugal beauty that breaks the tree to its essence.

And the story of the fruitless fig tree comes to mind. It served a purpose as shelter. The beauty was there, but not the bounty so the tree was cursed.

At times I feel like that cursed tree. Held together by all the trappings and baubles of life, yet a sense of barrenness, angst, bleakness, pervades my life. 

Walking along I look again and I see a wooden cross. A cross of grace, I think, rising out of the rocks. And superimposed upon it is a little leafless scraggly tree, full of abundance, sustenance and life.  Startled, a question arises. Which tree am I?

By the grace of God, the meaningless baubles are being stripped away and the beauty and bounty of fruit, the essence of life, my life in Christ, is left behind.

Grace in the midst.

Gloria Taliotis

October 21 2006

Healing Oasis - Pearl of Great Price

Quiet moments..

Resting in This Moment.

Relax and visualize.

Take time for.. You…

Open up and see where He leads. 

I visualize myself not coming to a temple or tabernacle or majestic building which houses the Creator of the universe, but to a very lush and green garden - an oasis, in the midst of busyness . There is a lot of turquoise here, flowers, jewels. The air is filled with a palpable love. It is all encompassing, so strong I can see it. Like a mist which surrounds me; strokes me with its permeating tendrils. A wonderful and warming light shines through around and within this mist of love, making it even more tangible and softly lovely.

It warms my skin with a soft and gentle kiss of welcome and love. It is almost as if the mist of love and light and grace mingles together in a liquid flow, tendrils searching out every part of my being.

From the mists moves the Creator coming to me with a gentle love - a being beyond comprehension. Yet- He is taking time for me… I am awed.

Humbly I bring my gift and lay it before him. It is encased in a small treasure chest which I have clasped to myself, fearful of losing it. I open it before this Creator of my being, hoping it will be acceptable. 

Inside the box, is my fragile inner spirit, that precious part that He had breathed into me.  I have nothing else to bring. Not that I felt I was worthy, but rather, since I was His creature whom He had created, I am bringing back myself to Him. He touches it lovingly and with great joy in his eyes.

He hands me a gift in return. I tremble at the significance I feel in this moment. After all He has done for me He has prepared another very personal gift. I reach out with open hands and with awe, yet assurance in my heart, of his wonderful love for me. 

It was a very familiar gift. In fact it is the very spirit I had presented to him. The one he had breathed into me at the beginning. He has taken it from my treasure box and coated it with a warm and glowing iridescent pearl.

He has returned my spirit to me not only made more beautiful, but resilient and sturdy , glowing with a soft light that reflected the mists of love and the light of grace. A pearl of great price, no longer in need of that cumbersome treasure box which always made me fearful in some way. 

I hold the pearl in my hand, no longer hidden and entrapped in the treasure chest. That treasure chest had been beautiful in itself, but the treasure inside was no comparison to the gaudy self-made beauty of the chest. There was no longer any need for that treasure chest.  He has made me beautiful in his love and created my spirit strong and resilient mirroring the grace of his love in the pearlescent glow that he has gifted me with- A breakthrough of His love, no longer hidden, glowing to reflect His love to all.