What would it be like
To not be weighed down
With the detritus and memories
Of decades and generations ?
Hats and shoes and awards
Artwork and photos and earrings
Scarves and letters and books?
What if I just traveled like a turtle
With my home on my back
And everything I needed
In front of me?
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I guess we have to just
keep plugging away
and be kind,
and be wise,
and be honest,
and do the best we can
every day.
Even if.
Because what’s the alternative,
right?
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Love has no choice but to love
Truth has no choice but to be true
Life has no choice but to live
I have no choice but to do
the will of my Creator
to express Love
reflect Truth
manifest Life
all we are comes from God
all we can be is what God made us to be –
happy, whole, healthy, and free
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
our spinning world cries
like a wounded animal
care for it gently
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Such a strange weave today.
Yellow butterfly flits in the flowers
and flaps higher and higher
into the evergreens before I can
get my camera out.
But she’s so pretty!
I round the curve in the path
and look across the river
and see half a dozen officers
in blue, surrounding a body,
I think. Red emergency vehicle.
And Whatcom Falls brings peace
in a white sound of rushing rapids
over boulders, over logs.
And then I hear a man yelling
and cursing the world,
but I can’t see him – is he ahead
of me? or above? or below?
And now the butterfly is back
and this time she poses in the flowers
for me, then flutters away
and is joined by another butterfly.
“Did you see that?” I ask the man
coming down the path towards me.
“The dancing caterpillars?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Wasn’t that cool?!”
Cussing and rushing
water, a body, and butterflies.
It has been an interesting morning.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
This new day holds a promise
of opportunities
to do something good
see something beautiful
meet a new friend
have a good laugh
heal someone’s pain
find the magic
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.”
-Mary Baker Eddy
You know what?
I can’t promise things will get better.
I can’t promise that people will care.
I can’t promise that things will be easy.
I can’t promise here will be better there.
I can’t promise we won’t ever go backwards.
I can’t promise we won’t lose what we’ve gained.
I can’t promise our country will heal.
I can’t promise that there won’t be pain.
But if we leave this story in the middle
we won’t know how this story ends.
If we leave this story right now
we can’t be part of helping it mend.
Let’s stay to the end.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I can’t sleep and go
to my friends’ FB walls
treasure-hunting for hope;
for love that calls
to all creation; for jewels
of inspiration and wisdom
that go beyond human rules
and resonate with the rhythm
beating in my own heart.
And I bring back these gifts:
A poem about father-love;
A photo of a puppy nestled
in her new human’s arms;
A painting of a golden sunrise;
Posts about epic bike rides
and happy-together times;
Pictures from mountain climbs;
The blessing from a flute;
Photos of home-grown fruits;
and everywhere magic.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
So much has changed
in the last day, week, year –
and I feel great fear.
But then Clara Kitty curls
up on my lap and I see
Love is still here
and a butterfly flutters by
the window and flits
through the blue sky
and I feel Life moving ‘round
me in an eternal satisfied sigh.
Life and Love: what’s true
and real can never change
or die.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
I know.
I can’t find the words.
It’s too big for words.
So much seems too big
for words these days.
It’s hard to wrap my head around
the fact that we live in a country
where we are all at the mercy
of other people’s religious beliefs.
Just know you’re not alone.
You have a world of mothers,
and fathers, aunts and uncles,
and sisters and brothers
standing right there with you.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 