Wednesday, August 21, 2012
Spiritual Companion: A Creature Wide and Small
On her A Musing Amma blog on Patheos, Elizabeth Nordquist, pastor , spiritual director, and grandmother, tells of caring for her “grand-dog,” Linus, while the rest of her family is off on summer adventures. As Elizabeth continues her quiet physical healing (as described in her meditation on prayer that I chose as another Link of the Day recently), she is finding the dog’s presence is not only providing her with comfort and loving companionship but is also teaching her spiritual lessons. “It has taken me a lifetime to learn that the Holy One inhabits ‘all creatures great and small,’” she writes, “and I have to continue to stretch to learn what lessons I receive when I am in the company of non-verbal four-footed beasts.” The words, “all creatures great and small,” come from the hymn, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” so after you read Elizabeth’s post, take some time to listen to this beautiful rendition of the hymn as sung by the Turtle Creek Chorale and the Dallas Women’s Chorus. Related: I noticed that one of the commenters who responded to Elizabeth’s blog post mentioned Wendy Francisco’s video on YouTube called “GoD and DoG.” I found the video delightful and think you will, too! It has a profound message.
