On a beautiful fall day in County Kerry, Ireland my husband Kevin and I are driven to Muckross Abbey in a horse dawn carriage; sun streams across our faces as we gaze at the lakes and majestic forest all around us. I beg for us to stop at the ruins so I can have a romp around, the driver concedes wondering at my delight. Each building holds the prayers of the centuries, the stories of the monk's lives, the tragedies that befell them at Cromwell's hands. I turn a corner and am awe-struck; in the middle of the Abbey an ancient Yew tree is growing, planted hundreds of years ago by the Fransiscans.
I have my own ruins, my own tragedy, but if I look carefully I see something was planted in me- life, joy, love, peace, goodness all dwell deeply within. It is in my boys' eyes and my daughter's smile, I am in awe of their dreams and their lives. I walk prayerfully through my ruins inviting God's Presence to meet me there to reclaim some things that were lost. Have you any ruins that need visiting?
Medicine from Holy Scripture:
"They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore places long devestated." Isaiah 61:3, 4
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