better than okay
pain-free and at peace; resting
in Love. All is well
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, – neither in nor of matter, – and the body will then utter no complaints.”
-Mary Baker Eddy (Science and Health, p. 14)
inside the twirling house
in Wizard of Oz
tilting and spinning around in circles
without a pause
scared and alone in the dark
the walls and floorboards
creaking and popping
and then suddenly
I’m bopping and hopping
to Alison Krauss’s rendition
of “I Will” in an irredescent bubble
of joy and peace
floating above the troubled rubble
until it gets smaller and smaller
and disappears into the nothing it is
and I see all there is,
or ever has been, is Love,
and nothing can stop the joy
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Others talk of an admonishing god –
a lecturing god,
an angry and exasperated god –
a strict father who gives eternal
time-outs to his children in hell.
But I have the God I need –
Father and Mother,
smiling on me
laughing with me
protecting and guiding me
through Life’s playground,
taking my hands and swinging
me and spinning me
over the bumps until I’m
laughing so hard with
my Father-Mother-Friend
that I have tears on my face.
Yeah. That’s my God.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
Baptized in sunshine
Life blessing me in birdsong
Spring is on the way
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I want to hibernate – just go to sleep
until we’re all together again –
only be awake for those moments
when you’re all near.
Maybe I can function while I sleep –
look like I’m awake and appear
to do all the things that society
requires of me – until your return.
Or…
Alternatively, I could fill those waiting
moments with love and joy –
I might as well, right?
And then when we all meet again
one day around the family table
I’ll have something valuable
to share – I’ll be ready and able.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Storing away memories
like a squirrel stores nuts
before the winter cuts in
They’re leaving soon
so I’m storing fast
gathering memories
before they pass
Walks around the block
as we laugh and talk
steaming tea in our favorite mugs
curry soup and extra long hugs
I tuck these memories
into the safe places
in my heart –
stockpiling the memories
for when we’re apart
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
“We think of an absent friend as easily as we do of one present.”
-Mary Baker Eddy
In the middle of it
I have to trust
as the darkness builds
around me
and I feel the loss
this will pass
the sun will rise again
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
For I am persuaded that
neither times of the month
nor times of the year;
neither astrological signs,
nor doubts, nor fear;
neither what’s far away,
nor what lies near;
neither what’s in the past,
nor what’s now and here;
neither war nor pandemic,
nor loss nor tears
can separate us from Love
and all that’s dear.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Come with me!
Join me here
in this place where I AM.
Just there, beyond
the five senses.
A universe of Love.
A presence called Life.
A power called Truth.
Do you feel it with you?
Do you feel yourself
baptized and immersed
in this presence of Love?
Come! Join me here!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I went for a long walk before
I went to the dentist. I needed
to escape from my head for a bit –
to let my thoughts soar
and let Life pour
all its Good into me.
I needed to take
a break
from the pain.
So I walked out of my head
and into the Consciousness
of Good surrounding
me, abounding
all around me.
Swans and ducks sat in a green
field by an old barn. The air
smelled of rain and life.
Children’s toys and bikes
sat in a driveway,
waiting to play.
Dogs wagged their tails
at me from inside their yard.
And I felt no pain at all while
I was there
outside my head.
So I stayed outside my head
when I went to the dentist.
And the dentist said:
“Healthy teeth. Long roots.
These aren’t going to fall
down during a storm.”
And I felt Love with us
as he filled in my long roots
and the crown on my tooth
and sent me home,
feeling no pain.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 