To Sabbath Like a Lizard

I didn’t read my Bible today.
I sprawled out on our aging deck
and kicked off my shoes.
The skin of my belly
inadvertently made contact
with the sun-warmed wood underneath.
I can see why lizards do this, I thought.
I heard the leaves rustle overhead
as the breeze swept through my hair
a dog barked
a bird warbled
I became aware of the white noise
from the highway nearby.

If the Word became flesh
& our flesh bears the Divine image,
maybe my body, too,
is a holy text worth reading.

I didn’t go to church today.
I met up with a friend.
Where can I meet the Divine Feminine
more powerfully than in the 
presence and stories of women?
I’ve been meeting with women lately,
one by one.
We sit across a table with coffee or tea
or nothing at all & I drink it all in.
We talk about parenting & poetry
& our journeys of becoming,
bearing witness to each other’s
ordinary, sacred stories.

If Church is communing with the saints,
maybe intentional presence
to other holy beings is Church, too.

I tried to pray today,
but it came out all wrong at first.
The old ways don’t connect me
to the Holy anymore.
I fumbled to find 
the right words to address You.
In exasperation, I cried out,
“Who ARE You??”

I couldn’t seem to shed the male imagery
that accompanies my prayers.
I tried, “God, our Mother” 
and everything shifted.
Instead of praying to a male authority 
“out there”
& feeling consumed with anxiety
about what He wanted me to do,
my spirit settled & turned inward.
I could feel Her in my chest.
“What must I do?” became
“What shall WE do?”

I relaxed in the deep inner knowing
that our healing is collective,
bound up with one another.
If prayer is attentive presence
to & with the Divine,
maybe an ordinary
awake aware life
is prayer, too.

I didn’t take communion today.
I stopped by our favorite spot for takeout
& sat at the dining table with my love.
We talked about climate change
& social justice & poverty
& the politics of it all.
If communion is breaking bread &
remembrance that leads to repentance,
maybe this, too, is communion.

I didn’t do so many things today,
but I was fully with
my body
the sunshine & the breeze
my friend
my love
& the Divine presence in us all.

Maybe this, too, is Sabbath.