Saturday after Ash Wednesday

My Secular Franciscan fraternity met Saturday morning. One of the questions asked was what we were doing for Lent. I felt moved to share this project with my fraternity (which, in turn, led to this blog). I appreciate that others are interested in seeing the results of this! Someone else had a similar experience with her spiritual director pointing in the direction of her creative talents as a practice for Lent.

This photo was the result of a combination of planning ahead and accepting a "nudge". I was out shopping for my mother-in-law's birthday present, and knew I would be near a marsh that could be interesting. However, I had a gift in the back seat and didn't want to stop long. I felt that I should really stop anyway, and I was glad I did. When I walked around the retaining wall and looked down at the water, I couldn't figure out what I was seeing - it seemed so strange to have the ice on one level and the water well below it! I was grateful to just SEE it - it was very interesting and beautiful.

I believe that the Holy Spirit's inspirations make use of our preparation, but we have to be willing to leave some room for the unexpected. As someone who likes to plan and likes to have her plans come out as intended, that can be a challenge...but over time, I've found that creative endeavors, in particular, work out a lot better if I do my homework, but leave some space for the Spirit to move. Whether it's photography, speaking, or writing, I'm often surprised by what comes together!

Late in the afternoon, I was back at the riverwalk where I had been on Wednesday. It wasn't a time to stop for photos...but the trees and branches seemed to have chandelier prisms of ice attached to them. Beautiful!