Lingering sounds from The Lion King http://disney.go.com/theatre/thelionking/#/home/ – like a perpetual eight track - (The endless loop tape cartridge player from the ‘70s) keep going round and round in my head. You know how that is? To get rid of it, you just have to sing it – belt it out. Allow me to share. Sing along if you like. Please note that I’ve taken a bit of liberty with the interpretation, but this is, in part, why I particularly love these two songs: Endless Night & He Lives in You (Reprise).
Listen and you'll hear Simba’s lament in the first of these.

Where has the starlight gone? Dark is the day
How can I find my way home?
Home is an empty dream Lost to the night
Father, I feel so alone
You promised you'd be there whenever I needed you
Whenever I call your name you’re not anywhere
I'm trying to hold on just waiting to hear your voice
One word, just a word will do to end this nightmare
When will the dawning break Oh endless night
Sleepless I dream of the day when you were by my side
Guiding my path Father, I can't find the way
I know that the night must end and that the sun will rise
I know that the clouds must clear and that the sun will shine
I know
Yes, I know
The sun will rise
Yes, I know
I know
The clouds must clear


Sometimes one needs to put it out there in the form of a good lament to clear the air and get centered with a proper focus on the reality of God’s presence with you again. Here, let me say that I’m uncomfortable with the phrase, “…and then, God showed up.” Let us remember that God is omnipresent – he is everywhere. (Psalm 139:7-12, Jeremiah 23:23-24)

Simba’s confidence in his father’s abiding presence – even though he hasn’t felt it, has been restored. He can now join in the chorus of the second of my favorites. (Consider this one from the perspective of Colossians 1:26 and 27 “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages & generations…the glorious mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”)


He lives in you
He lives in me

He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you


Having shared these thoughts, I’m grateful for the music - for the artistry and the beauty that the Lion King has brought into my life.
More than that, I’m grateful for reminders of God’s abiding presence.
Grateful too, that in difficult times, times when I feel lost and He seems far, far away, He hears the cry of my heart.

What is your lament today?
How has God proven His abiding presence in your life?

living an ordinary life

Today finds me grateful - back home after a week of safe and satisfying travels to Southern California. One of the highlights of the trip was experiencing The Lion King. I was enthralled – enraptured with the sounds and sights of my first Broadway experience! Now I’m back on the stage of my ordinary life – catching up with cleaning and yard work, getting essential errands run – trying to get back into the groove of the day to day without loosing my focus and center.

During Lent and the Easter Season I found that certain practices helped establish a practical rhythm that kept me on track. Sometimes I need an assignment to get ‘er done. A good book points the way - The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and "Women's Work" (Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality) by Kathleen Norris begins with a quote by Gregory of Nyssa:

“Let us remember that the life in which we ought to be interested is “daily” life. We can, each of us, only call the present time our own… Our Lord tells us to pray for today, and so he prevents us from tormenting ourselves about tomorrow. It is as if [God] were to say to us: “[It is I] who gives you this day [and’ will also give you what you need for this day. [It is I] who makes the sun to rise. [It is I] who scatters the darkness of night and reveals to you the rays of the sun.”

But I don’t want to read my life, I want to live it.

So, as I live this day, in the day to day, I choose an attitude of gratitude even in the ordinary.