When things get so messy, strange or tense that I can’t find a way through, maybe playing with different colors will open up a path or spark an idea.
Where do you need to playfully find new openings?
New light
Not without
“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in their hearts, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubts, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, not in God Himself.” ~ Unamuno
When are we stuck on the idea?
Ferment
“The deep places in our lives — places of resistance and embrace — are reached only by stories, by images, metaphors and phrases that line out the world differently, apart from our fear and hurt.” ~ Walter Brueggemann
How do you find your way into those narratives?
Wilderness
“In silence all of our usual patterns assault us… that is why most people give up rather quickly. When Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, the first thing to show up were the wild beasts.” ~ Richard Rohr
What wild beasts show up for you?
Journey
In the story of the burning bush God said, “I have seen the misery of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land…” Exodus 3:7-8
How does God see, hear, know about you, and is near? What will God do for you? How do you listen for God’s promise?
Advent II
There is movement in the scriptures leading to Jesus’ birth. People are travelling along unfamiliar, unexpected, unwelcome and unpredictable roads….watching, waiting, trusting, yearning for God.
How do we long for God with us…Immanuel?
With the Eyes of the Heart 