“This is the day that Love hath made! Be glad, give thanks, rejoice!”
Sunset over flooded fields in Skagit County, Washington State. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
This is the day that Love hath made…
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Category Archives: inspiration
A Confession: Sometimes Anger Works for Me
“Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
I’ve now and then shared some of the thoughts that have brought me healing. Usually these are thoughts of hope and joy, humor and cheery positivity. But sometimes there’s another mental place I go when I need healing – a place that I’ve been weirdly reluctant to share with others. But… maybe it’s time. Here it is: Sometimes I just get completely angry and exasperated with sickness and gloom. Sometimes my inner rabble gets roused and I get this powerful sense of indignation towards anything that would try to foist itself on me that I don’t want foisted on me. Sometimes I feel this powerful surge of revolt against anything that would try to take away my God-given right to wholeness and holiness. I laugh at the gloom, pull it from its fear-built pedestal, and knock it into smithereens. Yeah. Sometimes anger seems to work well for me. So there it is. My secret’s out at last. Thanks for letting me make my confession. I feel so much better now.
Alrighty. Carry on then…
– Karen
“Do you want to go for a drive?”
Dad is watching a movie when I get there. I sit down in the chair next to him and we hold hands for awhile. When I start getting ready to leave Dad says he wants to go with me.
Dad: I need permission to leave here.
Karen: No, you don’t. Do you want to go for a drive?
(Dad nods his head yes, and Melissa helps me get him ready to go. When I open the door to the passenger seat, he looks in and says, in surprise, “Hey! It’s clean!”)
I decide to drive us out towards the Sisters Espresso Stand to see if the flood waters have gone down there. If the waters have gone down and the stand is open I’ll buy Dad a root beer float.
Dad: It’s not the best weather for a drive.
Karen: Yeah, it’s kind of ugly out here, isn’t it? (pause) I love you, Daddy.
Dad: And I love you!
(We pass an eagle sitting in a tree and I point it out to Dad.)
Dad: (pondering eagles) We never saw any eagles in Los Angeles. Maybe they like this weather better.
(We pass a cool old farmhouse – I’m just about to point it out to Dad and tell him how much I’ve always liked that house, when Dad notices it on his own.)
Dad: That’s a picturesque place!
Karen: Yeah! They moved that here from another place…
Dad: (having a hard time hearing) What?
Karen: They bought that house for, like, a dollar forty-nine and had it moved out here from another place.
Dad: (nodding) And held up traffic getting it out here.
Karen: (laughing) Yup!
(We pass Allen School.)
Dad: Did you used to teach there?
Karen: Yup. And you showed your K2 slideshow to my students there.
Dad: (nodding) I remember.
The flood waters have gone down around the espresso stand and I see that I can drive in there. I pull in next to the stand.
Karen: I think we need to get you a root beer float.
Dad: (nods his head) Yeah!
(I get Dad his root beer float and bring it to him. Dad takes it and thanks me, and starts happily slurping it.)
We head back to Dad’s home. I pull into the driveway and up to the front door.
Dad: Are you going to dump me off here?
Karen: This is your home, Daddy.
Dad: (nods his head) Oh.
(I help him out of the car, into the house and up the stairs. He sees Melissa and says hi, and asks her if he should go into the living room. She smiles and helps him into one of the lounger chairs.)
Karen: I love you, Daddy. Thank you for going for a drive with me.
Dad: I love you, Karen.
(I head out – turn and blow him one last kiss, and he smiles and waves.)
Heaven is…
Sunset after the storm. Taken near LaConner, WA.
Unflappable Humanity and Pugnacious Joy
My dear Humoristian hooligans,
Go out there and spread your magic! May the stodgy, stingy, and stuffy be transformed by your irrepressible love of life. May bullying busybody bossy britches be bested by your unflappable humanity and pugnacious joy. May you make memories of moments that put a grin on your face and a bounce in your step. May you be part of the wonder of today.
Amen.
Karen
This little identity-theft-got-skype-hacked-maybe-all-my-accounts-have-been-compromised blip in my life…
Really?!
I am tired.
I am teacher-on-Friday tired.
I am Dad-is-99-and-on-hospice tired.
I am a-loved-one-has-died tired.
And you think I have energy
and time to worry about THIS
little identity-theft-got-skype-hacked-
maybe-all-my-accounts-have-been-
compromised blip in my life?!
Seriously?!
“Identity theft” can’t steal my real identity,
and dishonesty can’t destroy what’s true.
Lies can’t destroy what really matters –
the beauty in the world, and Love’s
love for me and you.
I have reached that place in my life
where I no longer can find the time
to worry about all the possible things
that may happen – I’ve found
all that’s really real is fine.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“The divine Mind maintains all identities, from a blade of grass to a star, as distinct and eternal… Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense. The identity, or idea, of all reality continues forever…”
“Error is false, mortal belief; it is illusion, without spiritual identity or foundation, and it has no real existence.”
“We admit that black is not a color, because it reflects no light. So evil should be denied identity or power, because it has none of the divine hues.”
“God is the Life, or intelligence, which forms and preserves the individuality and identity of animals as well as of men.”
– Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
Love Sings to Me
I wake from a dream about mermaids
saving the world – don’t ask
And something in that dream
leads to a prayer for the world
But I’m thinking too small
and fear infuses my prayer
And I know this prayer isn’t going
to help the world. So I turn
my thoughts another direction
And walk into the waiting arms
of Love – And boom – right there! –
that is All. In All. Everywhere.
Love sings to me – songs of joy
songs of confidence, sweet, soothing
songs of peace and hope
Songs from the astronauts
moving among the stars.
Songs from the soldiers returned
from war to a warm embrace.
Songs from the climbers standing
on the summit at last.
Songs from mothers and fathers
tucking children safe in their beds.
Songs from sleek otters rollicking in the Sound
and shimmering fish swimming in a stream
and lizards basking on a toasty rock
and herons spanning dinosaur wings
above me and butterflies flitting
among summer blossoms and leaves
skittering across autumn sidewalks
and spring daffodils turning their heads
towards the sun and sparkling
snowflakes falling gently on the cedars.
Songs from the mermaids in my dream.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
We Could
We could have a world where
children – all children
went to school and were safe
and didn’t need to worry
about losing their lives while
they tried to get an education
We could have a world where
all people – of every gender and race,
religion and age and political party
were treated equally, without bias
or discrimination or prejudice
or bullying, or bigotry
We could have a world where
everyone cared about protecting
the environment and the creatures
who share Earth and no one
tried to take more than they
needed, and people shared
We could have a world in which
we pooled our resources to feed
the hungry, and heal the sick,
and shelter the homeless, and
educate the ignorant, and reach
for the stars
We could
We could
We could
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Never doubt the difference you’ve made…
My dear Humoristian hooligans –
I hope you never doubt the difference you’ve made to this world. Every bit of shared laughter and love and wisdom – every moment of beauty you’ve added, and every time you’ve reached out to your fellow creatures in need – you’ve added to the momentum towards Good. Don’t be discouraged. Truth always wins in the end. Love has already won.
Today we celebrate all the good in Life! Keep shining your light, dear ones! Onward and upward!
Karen
(Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
Otter Party (Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Marmot on Mount Rainier (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Mount Rainier
New friend at Mount Rainier
Butterfly in Bow, WA
Trumpeter Swans in Bow, WA (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Barn, Mount Baker, and Swans
John
Dancing in Boulevard Park
Happy Girl
Snow geese in Skagit County, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Clara climbing the door…
Clara and her tail.
An alpine butterfly flits among the flowers on Table Mountain. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
Sunset from Clayton Beach
Dad in front of his mural.
Shuksan Reflection
Dee Molenaar painting
Scott and the sons at Lincoln City, OR.
From our back deck.
Seagulls flying over Bellingham Bay.
Seagull Taking Flight (Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Drawing of Seagull by my dad, Dee Molenaar
The sons on their slide.
Mama Robin and babies on our porch. (Karen Molenaar Terrell)
From the Southworth-Fauntleroy Ferry.
Plane’s wing in sunset – photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Sons swinging over Lake Padden.
This bird settled on my hand while I was tromping around Mount Baker, and let me snap his picture…
Right after I got a new camera I spotted this eagle posing in a tree for me…
An owl at Lake Padden, WA, spent five or ten minutes in silent communion with me.
A butterfly in the Seattle Butterfly Exhibit poses on a leaf ….
A cormorant spreads his wings and eyes me while I take his photo.
The sons at Lincoln City.
Tartan
Chuckanut Boulders, WA
Oregon coast.
Moz and Einstein.
“Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
A Sweet Sadness
When I left work I felt impelled to turn right instead of left and found myself heading towards LaConner. Tracy Spring’s CD, Looking Forward – Looking Back – was playing in my car – bluesy and poignant – and I felt myself going to that place where I find Moz. I carried her with me in-between fields filled with snow geese and trumpeter swans and I could see her in my thoughts, smiling at the beauty around us, enjoying our drive together.
I stopped at the LaConner Inn (where Moz and Dad used to live) to pick up any mail that might have been sent there. Whenever I go to their old place I always look up at the deck where I used to see Moz waving at me as I arrived and left.
I picked up the mail from the nice lady at the desk – the mail all came from charities that Moz used to give to. Sometimes it’s kind of disconcerting to see her name on all these envelopes from people still asking her for money – but today it made me smile.
As I left town I decided to stop at the coffee shop I used to go to all the time when I visited Moz and Dad. There was a man who looked like he could use a warm cup of coffee outside the shop, getting on a bike. I asked him if I could buy him a coffee and he smiled and said he’d just had a cup, but he’d take me up on the offer another time. He said he was sorry, he didn’t remember my name. I laughed and told him we’d never met. And then he laughed, too, and introduced himself.
I went into the coffee shop and asked the barista behind the counter if she had any pumpkin lattes. She said they didn’t have the pumpkin pulp anymore, but she could give me a pumpkin spice latte and that sounded perfect. We began talking – and I learned her beloved grandmother had just passed on. We talked about her grandma for a bit – she was very dear to her grand-daughter – and the barista teared up as she talked. I shared Moz with her then, and told her about the drive I was having with Moz. She came around the counter and we hugged. And there was a kinship there.
She mentioned the man I’d just met outside her shop – apparently she provides him with a coffee every day and sometimes he’ll spend three or four hours in the shop. She’s told him that if he ever needs anything – a trip to the doctor or whatever – he just needs to let her know. I told her I’d just offered him a cup of coffee, too, but he’d said he’d just had one – and I realized she’d been the one who’d provided him with the coffee. Again, I felt a kinship with her. We introduced ourselves to each other – her name is Judy – and I told her I knew I’d see her again.
I got back in the car with my pumpkin spice latte and drove back home, passing flocks of snow geese and trumpeter swans on the way. Tracy Spring’s music filled my car, and I found myself sobbing – not with grief, exactly – I felt a good kind of sadness, if that makes any sense. A sweet kind of sadness, remembering Moz and feeling her with me.
– Karen
(I’m not sure I’ve written Tracy’s lyrics in the right form, but here are some of the words to her song *Remember*.)
“It’s so hard to say good-bye…
All things pass,
of this I am sure,
love and music will endure,
and when I’m gone
remember the song,
remember how I loved.”
– Tracy Spring
Red Barn and Snow Geese
Trumpeter Swans in Skagit County, WA
Red Barn and Snow Geese in LaConner, WA
Snow Geese Taking Flight
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 