Dear Kaleid Ladies,
Good morning to you!
It’s been sweet to hear from Kaleid women about how they are staying grounded so that they can grow this summer. Taking practices we have come to value during the pandemic back into our “real world” can strengthen us and give us handles for practically loving ourselves, others, and our city.
God’s love is meant to ground us and grow us.
In Ephesians, Paul prays a beautiful prayer. He says, “I ask God to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” (The Message Version, Ephesians 3:15-20)
This week, we hear from a Kaleid friend whose grounding and growth go hand in hand.
She is grounding herself in God’s love through the Prayer of Examen.
She says, “I have found that during the summer, my prayer practice returns to the Prayer of Examen. I love closing out my day listening to the guided Prayers of Examen from the Contemplative at Home website. We also have done the Prayer of Examen at the dinner table as a family. We usually listen to the gentle examen or the examen with children.”
She is growing in compassion for others by learning alongside them.
She says,” This summer I am in a book club with adults from my children's school. We are reading My Grandmother's Hands, discussing it, and doing some of the practices. The brilliant thesis of the book is that the racial divide in our country will not heal until we heal the trauma done to black, white, and police bodies.”
She is growing more delighted with the city through small adventures.
She says, “I find it is easy to get stuck in the same old routine in the same old places. This summer it is my goal to take an adventure a week in Atlanta. I want to do things like get jerk chicken from the place on East Ponce that I have driven by for years, and hike in a park we haven't visited (like Vickery Creek).”
We hope you all have a fantastic 4th of July!
See you next week,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. Congratulations to Sarah, who won our Kaleid mug in the drawing we did for the women who have graciously shared how they are seeing and loving themselves, others, and the city this summer!
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