Aug 03, 2025

Living in Unconditional Love (229)

 

“Love flows from God to humans without effort:

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings-

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul,

Yet separate in form.”

–Mechtild of Magdeburg

 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years after we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill (not COVID), and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down almost two years. Covid has proved to be a persistent problem, and many of the long-term effects are quite serious, and it has proven much more serious than flu.

08/03/2025                             The birthdays continue, and today (August 3^rd) is the birthday of my daughter Karen and Alesandra’s Mom, Maria Ynes (I don’t know her last name.). It is fun watching all the birthdays show up.

The garden has passed the peak but is still gorgeous. The tall lilies are at their peak, and the daylilies are dazzling. It was too hot to mow earlier in the week (approaching 90) but I had a day of rain on Thursday and then the weather cooled down to the low 70s. I mowed on Saturday and all looks nice. it is projected to warm up next week so I will see when I can mow again. The Oriental lilies are still to bloom, but I have only a few of them. I look at the lily that my Dad won “Best in Show” (named ‘Vern’s Beauty’) in the late 80s at the National Lily Show and while pretty, they are nothing like the two blooming heads, each four feet high with almost 50 blooms each, that I saw in the garden just before the show. The lilies were 8 feet tall each, as we were at my parents’ home just the week before. I have no idea how he got them to grow so big, but that was his aim since the national show was only a little over an hour’s drive in Ohio, he had planted the two bulbs in apparently the perfect spot, up against the white house on the southwest side, in deep loam soil. They were well staked and watered to prevent falling over. I keep my tall lilies staked for the same reason.

Everything is green and it has been very warm with occasional rain to keep everything bright green. It appears it may be dry for the next week or so, so things may pull back a bit. It remains to be seen.

The pain in our world is increasing each day, and the rich grow richer every day. it is sad to see the children with their gaunt faces peering out, begging for food. God is saddened by the way humans treat one another, just so the rich can be richer, as if that will matter in a few years. Yes, God, as shown by Jesus, carries the full range of emotions, and is saddened by our refusal to accept the love and beauty waiting for us if we only look with our inner eye, for as Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you”.

Meditation

Gentle One, I lay my sorrows and joys before You and rejoice in the smile I receive in return. That smile is tinged by Your sorrow in the careless way we humans often act towards one another and the way we handle Your creation, as if we have no end in sight. I lay these burdens in Your care for that is what will eventually allow us to join with You when our time is over in this mode of being.