Off she goes....
Please bring strange things.
Please come bringing new things.
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms.
Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing
and your outbreath be the shining of ice.
May your mouth contain the shapes of strange words.
May you smell food cooking you have not eaten.
May the spring of a foreign river be your navel.
May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us,
be always coming home.
Please come bringing new things.
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms.
Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing
and your outbreath be the shining of ice.
May your mouth contain the shapes of strange words.
May you smell food cooking you have not eaten.
May the spring of a foreign river be your navel.
May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us,
be always coming home.
- Ursula LeGuin
Love you dear child.
careful
mindful
old things
new things
Love you
Mean it.
Mom
God speed, precious Katie. They are seeing the world for us, aren't they, Donna.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Di
Yes, they are! Thank you for the prayers!
ReplyDeleteDonna
Praying for Katie ... and you, dear Donna.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be great!!
Praying for a safe and fabulous journey for dear Katie Gracie!
ReplyDeleteBuon viaggio to your Katie! Am on this side if the pond should she need a hand...she win't. But still. Coraggio Dear Donna!
ReplyDeleteAmy
Thank you Amy!!!!
DeleteLove
Donna
Love this so much. Katie Grace, you're off to experience life, live and love the moments. how brave of you donna, to send this 6 year old to Europe without you. She is still 6 right? (always in my mind)
ReplyDeleteShe is my baby, I miss her already. I missed her before she got to Chicago.
DeleteLove this so much. Katie Grace, you're off to experience life, live and love the moments. how brave of you donna, to send this 6 year old to Europe without you. She is still 6 right? (always in my mind)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful trip, Katie! Prayers for you Donna. I can only imagine how hard it must be to let her go.
ReplyDeletePraying for safety for your dear Katie. What a marvelous life experience for her! May she come home full of tales and grace.
ReplyDeleteDebbie Z.
Katie and her group made it safely to Belgium. She texted me around 4:00 am.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for praying.
May you travel in an awakened way,
ReplyDeleteGathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
~ John O'Donohue ~
It seems Katie has grown up right before our eyes. I know she will love her time abroad.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to pass along your poem and the one from Jodie to a couple and their three daughters who are leaving next month to serve as international missionaries in Latvia.