… watching for the brushstrokes of God
“On the front end, it hurts. Leaving my to-do lists alone. Trusting the universe will continue its forward motion without my intervention. Demonstrating that it is God who sustains me and not my own efforts. Sabbath is like the scary free fall of faith, in microcosm. And it is good for our hearts to practice. It gets easier.” ~ Marcia Lebhar
What might you leave alone?
The weather is getting warmer, spring is in the air beckoning animals to emerge from hibernation. Resources stored in their bodies have been used up over the cold winter months. Spending months asleep they wake rested and hungry.
How will you emerge from covid hibernation? What are you hungry for? How rested are you?
What an amazing thing it would be to have the rhythms of your life regularly usher you into such deep trust that you could actually rest from it all. Who would we be, who would I be, if I trusted like this for twenty-four hours once a week? ~ Ruth Haley Barton
Do you trust enough to rest?
“Winter invites me to rest and contemplation, to making time for quiet walks in the few hours of light. The God of winter invites me into a healing rhythm of rest and renewal, of deep listening in the midst of stillness, of trusting the seeds sprouting deep within that have been planted.” ~ Christine Valters Paintner
What invitation do you sense this winter?
I am yearning for snow…fresh and untouched, a winter wonderland of stillness and peace that covers all the pain and grief of the past months.
What kind of space are you yearning for?
You have been pulled into the fierce winds
Carrying you over the barren hills
Leaving you bruised
On the shores of this rocky coast.
…
Come falling
On your knees
On this bed of sand
Where the stones have washed away
And the softened earth awaits,
Take all the time you need
To be undone
And breathe ~ Morgan Harper Nichols
What softened space gives you breath?
With the Eyes of the Heart 