“Eleven degrees this morning, cold, yet sunny with a bright blue sky.
Decorated with condensation the window panes offer a beautiful view
of a light snow that covers the ground and trees.
I look up and see the top of the maple tree with her graceful limbs
silhouetted against the blue sky, perfect symmetry of larger limbs
melding into very fine delicate branches fanned against the sky.
In contrast the thinner honey locust tree beside the maple has
angular, sparse, claw like branches jutting out from it’s rough bark
looking strong, purposeful and free.
These trees honor and praise God in the sanctity of their individual beauty.
I am grateful to love and appreciate the difference.”
My Other Mother
When I am consumed with sticky fear
about things I cannot control
my Mother calls my name.
Hearing her voice I go outside.
Quickly, her arms embrace me
in the gentle wind.
I can smell her in the musty earth
after a spring rain.
I hear her in birdsong, with the lusty call
of the red-winged blackbird,
in the soulful song of the mourning dove,
in the silence.
I see her reflected back to me
in the face of a flower,
in a broken limb artfully dangling,
in the thick layer of emerald green moss
clinging to an ancient rock,
in the fairy-like growth of mushrooms
nestled in the crook of a tree branch.
She allows me to touch her softness
in the rose pedal, lambs ear and soft grasses.
I can taste her sweetness
in the fat, ripe wild blackberries.
Lying on the green earth,
she invites me to pause and
soak in her love and acceptance
of my humanity.
Mother does not despair
or have scary thoughts about this or that -
she just is,
content to be.
In her presence,
I can breathe freely and deeply
finding rest with the absolute certainty
in this present moment,
all is well.
~ From Healing Gardens: Where the Soul Is Tended
by Deborah Marqui
“The Message of the Yellow Flower”
I am comfortably confident in who God created me to be
I am comfortably confident in where I have been placed at this time
I rest in who I have been made to be
I rest in who I am
I live in who I am
I am surrounded by color
I question not my life
I question not my place
When my sun fades
And the night comes,
When the winds blow
and the chill sets in,
When my color cools
And my energy lows,
I remember I am,
An always will be
…. a flower.
I bend gracefully to the wind
I accept that others pass by my fading color.
And my roots stay strong
My strength still flows.
What others cannot see
Is how I still nourish the earth
And how my fading life will feed the soil
And join with all my fellow flowers
To nurture life into the future.
Then my flower will fade,
But my life in the earth will continue forever.”
“This Is Love”
Listen! The Great Mother is speaking about love.
This is love when the sun awakens the day and
unexpectedly the light streams across an open field
welcoming the new day under a blue sky.
This is love when a red-tailed hawk soars by your window
with its colorful tail touched by the morning light.
This is love when through the thick naked branches
the small marsh sparkles and shimmers dancing
in the silvery, spring sun light.
This is love when a mysterious seedling appears in the garden
and asks to be nurtured and tended, and in return for your attention,
you are gifted with an enormous, six-foot, Common Sunflower
with dinner plate blossoms that radiate joy.
Love presents itself in ordinary, everyday experiences.
Nature, The Great Mother, knows this truth. She says,
Wake up! or you will miss these moments of God passing by.
Wake up!”
“Centering Prayer Interrupted”
Every morning before meditation,
I close my eyes and whisper to God,
”Face to face, cheek to cheek,
mouth to mouth, until
our breath becomes one.”
Sometimes, I hear the door creak open –
soft footsteps stop behind me.
My husband lightly touches my shoulder,
gently kisses my cheek and quietly leaves.
In the past, a wave of irritation
would sweep over me as he has
“interrupted” my meditation,
but, no more. One day I awoke.
That gentle touch and kiss
is God loving me through him.
Who are God’s hands and heart but ours?
I am blessed.”
“To Cut or Not To Cut?
Sometimes as part of an event at Healing Gardens I will ask participants to pick their own bouquet of flowers. The results are spectacular. The choice of flowers and foliage are as varied as the talents and gifts of each person. When the bouquets stand together…what collective beauty!
I often have someone who cringes at the thought of picking flowers, as if the plant feels the pain of the cut or they might say, “It’s a shame to cut away such beauty.”
What they do not know is that flowers and foliage are God’s gift to us, desiring to be picked, so they can be a part of God’s design. When cut, they say, “Thank you!” and grow stronger, fuller, and taller and offer more blooms to grace our lives. They secretly know as part of creation,
they mirror God’s face and have a Divine purpose.
Do they feel pain when picked or pruned? I do not know, but I do know what they know - without pain there is little growth or deep transformation. Picking flowers and pruning back is a principal part of God’s plan for all of creation.
So cut, and bring a bouquet of love, laughter and happiness into your home!”
“We are not alone.
Nature is in perfect solidarity with humanity.
She mirrors every human emotion or
condition known to mankind.
We experience her at her best and at her worst.
She has total free will,
no one tells Mother Nature what to do.
She is a constant surprise.
She instructs us how to surrender,
not giving up but accepting what is.
She brings us immediately
into the present moment.
She is the consummate teacher.
Her lessons flow continuously
through every day and season.
The Book of Nature is available
to everyone who cares to read and
discover her deep lessons about
life, death, rebirth, God and humanity.”
“I passed by her the other day.
She was wearing a dress of vibrant reds, oranges and yellows
that cast a glowing light all around her.
Her dress was dancing in the gentle breeze.
Her beauty took my breath away.
I could only gaze at the vision before me
and utter a prayer of thanks to be so honored
to possess eyes that see beauty with a sense of wonder.
I passed by her several days later
and was astonished to see her standing naked.
Her beautiful dress with all its vibrant color
was lying in a puddle at her feet.
She was standing proud and strong.
I could see her body was beautiful
with graceful limbs even though
there were lumps on her trunk and several scars.
I wondered if I could stand
as proud and tall naked for all to see,
at peace with my body.
Then I remembered,
that in those moments of standing naked before God
with only my ‘blind, naked intent’
were the times I felt most loved.
I bowed and thanked the tree
and resolved to go about my life
a little more naked.
I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving
to be so honored to have eyes
that see beauty with a sense of wonder.”
“I watched the squirrels.
One ran from another and hid in a hole in an old, gnarled honey locust tree.
Today, during meditation I tried to hide from God.
Hiding my face in shame, I saw on a deeper level my imperfections, my selfishness, my critical attitude about how people dress, look and act, my impatience with being verses doing.
God comes and finds me. Leaning down God places warm hands on my shoulders and says,
“Do not hide from me.”
You will be called, ‘The One Who Knows Herself.’ Looking deeply into yourself will help you understand the depths of human nature and the depth of my love for you just as you are.”
Tearfully, watching the squirrels play, I sit with this paradox of being deeply loved knowing the depth of my imperfections, grateful and overwhelmed by this all-consuming tenderness and acceptance.”
“When I am me
God’s words, earth’s words
Are not lost on me
They are as loud as the roar of ocean waves
Quiet as a tiptoe through rustling leaves
Strong as a persistent yellow dandelion pushing through a concrete crack
And gentle as butterfly wings dipping in the breeze
When I am me
God’s words, earth’s words
Complete me ”
“I lay down on the earth in the warm grass – realizing for the first time the living breathing entity that is earth – the life force within – that actually emanates into me: that there is an eternity within me that does not die. ”
“Being in Nature dissolves tension, restores sanity and soothes the anxious heart.”
“A Sensual God”
Nothing is as sensual as God.
Just look at Nature -
the threshold to a soul
is as close as our senses.
With the recent fallen snow and
drop in temperature,
the woods have become
a mystical, magical, ethereal presence.
Every branch, every limb,
every stalk of dried foliage
is outlined in mother-of-pearl.
For three days I have walked
amidst this masterpiece
of white stillness and silence.
Nature’s snow-fresh scent
is like the smell of my grandmother’s sheets
hung outside to dry.
In the woods I discover,
a narrow, winding deer path
that opens into a forest preserve.
I only hear the crunch
of my footsteps in the snow.
As I walk around the natural prairie path
and back home through the woods,
the essence of Nature
soaks into my body.
My heart is pumping,
my cheeks aflame with the cold,
my legs tingling with the effort
of walking through the snow.
All that I have taken in with my senses
saturates my body and soul with joy.
Nothing is as sensual as God.”