Okay, I admit it.  Just before Christmas, I prayed for snow.  It wasn’t a long or involved prayer — just a mantra that I kept on the edge of my tongue, a vision that lingered at the forefront of my thoughts.  And perhaps just once, I actually said: “I wish it would snow.”  Or maybe I said it twice.  At this point, I can’t remember because now I just wish it would stop.  Yes, I am actually knee-deep in the answer to my prayers sighing — “not again.”

Prayer opens a spigot of God’s good that can’t be turned off at whim.  The Universe wants to give us what we want — especially if there is no harm to anyone else.  Why shouldn’t we want snow?  Agriculturalists tell us that it is an excellent insulator for gardens, protecting natural landscape and animal inhabitants against low temperatures. 

We may get tired of putting on our UGGS, but the wintery white stuff provides the necessary moisture to plants that would be at a risk of injury without it.

My favorite drink is water, which is also what I use in my showers and baths — not to mention for cleaning dishes and doing laundry.  While some may think that 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain, it can actually contain as much as 5 inches, depending on the snowflake’s crystal structure.   Slow snow melts cause trickles that seep into the earth to purify water for drinking.

Calm winter snows wrap God’s grace around us, reminding us to go within.  Beneath the snow, we transform.  We wait.  We learn to ask for what we want and to be courageous enough to receive it.  We remember that we are no more than tiny specks in the cosmic flow of spiritual breath.  We slow down, like each unique crystal dancing from heaven to the ground, realizing that we need to enjoy the process before we melt in the crack of someone’s boot.  Our journey shows us the presence of God in everything: laughter at falls when we know we can get up again; releasing the past when we trust that we just move forward; brushing ourselves off when we discover patience with each step that we take.

Proverbs doesn’t say “not again”; it says “[s]he is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed.”  When we are clothed in the Spirit, we have all of the protection that we need.  I was outside yesterday when the first flake fell. I saw the Holy Ghost pull the good out of souls, saw them help each other push cars, balance over piles and navigate subway stairways.

Isaiah doesn’t say “not again”; he says “[m]y word . . . is like  . . . snow.  It will not come back to me without results, but it will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.”  When we speak God’s word, it always returns a blessing.  When we give of ourselves, God throws “open the floodgates of heaven and pour[s] out so much good that there is not room enough to receive it.”

How are you embracing this extraordinary manna of God?  Are you ready for living water to fall into your life?  Do you stop long enough to grin at the spectacular show of new life unfolding in the air around you?  Watch what you say and what you wish for: words always have a way of returning.  The universal ethers are full of your hopeful longings, just waiting for the right nudge into manifestation.

So when you see the snowflakes cover every shape and form, say with assurance “in God we live and move and have our being.”  When you feel the first flakes melt on your tongue, say “be still and know that I am God.”  When you realize that you are knee-deep in Absolute Good, refrain from mumbling “not again” — just spin an angel out of flapping arms, fashion white balls of cold slush, or step gracefully through the abundance of this season, and say “glory, glory, hallelujah.”

Namaste,

Reverend Cecilia Loving

About SPIRITMUV:  Spiritmuv® is a trans-denominational church, which means that it transcends the confines of religion and teaches unconditional love for one another regardless of race, creed, culture, or religion.   At the heart of its teachings is what Jesus taught — that we love one another, as well as the community that Mahatma Ghandi inspired when he said, “I am a Christian and a Muslim and a Hindu and a Jew.”  Reverend Cecilia Loving is the founder and creator of Spiritmuv, which was formed in 2007.  Services are held for an hour every Sunday, from 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. at the Unity Center of NYC, located at 213 West 58th Street.

Rev. Loving, author of Prayers for Those Standing in the Edge of Greatness, is the sole owner, creator and administrator of God is a Brown Girl Too®, which holds annual retreats and workshops.  The next God is a Brown Girl Too Retreat will be held April 1-3, 2011, at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center.

None of the content herein may be copied or otherwise used except with Reverend Loving’s written permission.

 

Join the Spiritmuv  Community at www.Spiritmuv.ning.com for special postings by Rev. Loving.

GOD IS A BROWN GIRL TOO®   “CREATING  BEYOND THE  BOX  OF CONVENTIONALITY ” RETREAT
will take place in the Spring of 2011
from April 1 at 5:00 P.M. through April 3 at 1:00 P.M. 

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to enjoy the peace, serenity and creative consciousness of a like-minded group of women of color at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center, located at 299 North Highland Avenue, in Ossining, New York.   All rooms are single and surrounded by the loving prayers of the Dominican Sisters who own the facility.   

 The cost of the entire weekend, including rooms, workshops and three delicious meals per day, is only $450.00.  There is a $100 discount for senior citizens, so seniors pay $350.00. 

 Registration has already begun at http://www.godisabrowngirltoo.com/or you can mail payment directly to God is a Brown Girl Too, 376 President Street Unit 2H, Brooklyn, New York 11231.  But act fast because rooms are sellling and there are now only 13 rooms left.