Monthly Archives: June 2012

God’s Gift to Me

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“Today is my gift to you!
Enjoy it!”, exclaimed My God
as I cycled to work
past the Two Balls
which shone bright and white
against a blue sky
on this midsummer’s morning.
“Enjoy all of the gifts
that I have given to you!”

And today felt special,
as if My God was spoiling me,
giving me a precious day,
a memory to cherish,
a keepsake.

As I returned home late this evening,
My God continued
to shower me with gifts.
A magnificent sunset
lit up the whole of the sky,
shimmering off Lough Neagh
and painting everything in the landscape
a gentle pink –
the peaks of Divis Mountain,
sheep dotted in the fields
and even the steep mountain road.

The sunset was truly spectacular
but My God hadn’t finished spoiling me yet.
A huge, pink rainbow,
unlike any I have ever seen,
arched high in the late evening sky
and I felt the calming presence
of My God,
who reassured me that
everything is safely in his capable hands
and that, whatever happens,
everything will be alright.

Then My God bestowed on me
the final part of today’s gift –
the gift of his peace.

© Claire Murray, 19th June 2012

My Wonderful Girls

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Lord,
today as I cycled to work
I unexpectedly met my two girls in town.
They were full of life,
excited by bargains bagged in pound shops
at that early hour.

My two girls grinned and chatted,
full of exuberance.
And as I listened, bemused,
a deep feeling of love
stirred within me.

Yet these two girls of mine
have me tortured
with squabbles, sulks and mood-swings.
My two girls frustrate me, irritate me,
drive me to distraction.
They are headstrong,
determined to live their lives
in their own ways.
My advice is discarded.
In their eyes
I seem to have zero credibility.

And yet I love them both so dearly.

I can’t help wondering, whether,
as a child of God,
I am any better?
Do I frustrate My God in the same way
that my two girls frustrate me?
Am I any better at listening to My God
than they are at listening to me?
Am I equally determined to do things
in my own way,
the hard way?

As I cycle on, I make a mental note
not to be too hard on my two girls
and to remember
that I am truly blessed to have them
as my daughters.

© Claire Murray

Closer than a Kiss

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Lord,
what strikes me these days
is how close you want to be
to all of us
and how intimate you want
our relationship with you to be.

In your time,
there was the Holy of Holies,
a sacred place,
where only the priests
were allowed to go.

Long ago,
only the prophets
got to see your face
or speak to you.

But you have changed.
Now, you are a God
for every single person.
You don’t want distance
between you and us.
Instead, you long for intimacy.

In the Eucharist
you come right down among us.
You invite us to become one with you,
to receive you in an intimacy
that is closer than a kiss.

You don’t hold back
but I do, unintentionally.
Today, on this feast of Corpus Christi,
help me to open my heart to you,
to receive in Mass
the wonderful gift that you offer to me –
yourself.

© Claire Murray

Worth the Effort

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Sometimes a thought would pop
into my head,
“Imagine cycling down Hannahstown Hill!”
and my eyes would light up with delight.
But busy roads and lunatic drivers
made the dream seem impossible.

Today, I rose at dawn,
cycled a circuitous route
along quiet, country roads
and managed to arrive in safety
at the top of Hannahstown Hill.

I crouched down over my handle bars
and flew down the steep hill on my bike,
the wind on my face
forcing my eyes to water.
What a hill!
I laughed with joy,
exhilarated,
when I reached the bottom.

Excitement over,
a leisurely journey home began.
At Hannahstown,
I saw rabbits in fields,
a sparrow hawk on a roof top.

At Divis
I watched an auburn fox race
through an expanse of rushes
and psychedelic pink moths
dance on the ground in front of me.

And while I enjoyed an unbroken view of the Mournes,
majestic in the early morning sun,
I felt My God say to me,
“Claire,
follow your dreams
in your own way
and at your own pace.
It’s worth the effort!”

© Claire Murray