An Artist I am Not!

In 2013 when I was in licensing school I was given a devotional book published by the Upper Room.  It was called a Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God.  It has been my daily companion in my devotional time for the past 5 and 1/2 years.  It follows the liturgical calendar.  It follows the Lectionary and it has excerpts from the writings of many theologians both in antiquity and contemporary.  There is a rhythem to the devotional.  Each day there is an Affirmation that is read, a petition that is prayed, a scripture reading for the day, a time for personal prayers, a reading from one of the theologians, God's promise and my response.  The affirmation, petition, God's promise and response are the same every day for a week.  The week follows a theme.

I learned that there is a whole set of these books that have been written.  They include:

• A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants-1987
• A Guide to Prayer for All God's People-1994
• A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God-2003

A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God-2014

Having used this guide for several years now I decided to purchase the newest one to begin in Advent this year.  The format is a little different.  Following the Affirmation you read the same Psalm every day and there is a prayer based on the Psalm that follows.  The Daily Scripture reading is still there but that is followed by a time of silence, then the personal prayers.  God's Promise and my response were replaced by offering of self to God and a blessing.  I have enjoyed reading the same Psalm everyday for a week.  The most challenging and the best part of this time has been the practice of silence.  It is hard.  I started out with just 5 minutes and have not yet move beyond that 5 minutes.  I set a timer, close my eyes and try to be silent.  I will admit that more days then not nothing earth shattering comes from this practice.  Many days my mind wanders through my to do list or something that happened the day before.  However, there are moments when God does reveal to me a message in the silence.  I want to share two of those moments with you.

On January 2 as I sat with my head down on my desk and my eyes closed I had a vision of a daisy.  Daisies are pretty.  I like them okay but they are not one of my favorite flowers so I thought it odd enough that it was worth a google.  I googled daisy symbolism and found out that the daisy symbolizes innocence, purity and new beginnings.  It is often a flower associated with the birth of a baby.  It so happens that a member of one of my congregations had given birth to a baby the previous day so I knew that I had to go get her some daisies.  As I drove to Sylva to the hospital, I was thinking about the daisies and the new beginnings.  I remembered that my good friend had just moved her medical office to a new building and I said a prayer for her new beginning.  I also realized that I am on the cusp of a New Beginning as well.  Suddenly the flower took on meaning for me personally.  It became an icon that I wanted to focus on.  I felt like there was a promise in the New Beginning.  The Daisy closes itself up each night with the setting of the sun and opens back up with the rising of the sun.  It becomes new each day.  A couple of days later I read a writing of Saint Catherine of Siena.  In this writing she talked experiencing the love of Christ crucified as an experience that transforms one into a pilgrim and a teacher.  She talks of the pilgrim being focused on reaching her journeys goal.  While she doesn't say what the journeys goal is she says that a "good pilgrim will go forward bravely in love and in eagerness for the goal she hopes to reach."  Suddenly a motto accompanied the picture of the daisy that I had in my head.  I felt the urge to paint this.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am not an artist.  However, I wanted something to go on the wall of my sacred space so I painted it.  This is the result.

A couple of days later I received a vision of dandelion.  I learned they they symbolize perseverance.  Dandelions can grow and thrive in any conditions.    This too seemed to be a message of encouragement.  So, I painted it as well.

This was therapeutic and fun and I am so glad that I listened in the silence, even if it did seem bizarre.

I share this with you to encourage you in your own daily spiritual practices.  Some days there will be nothing.  You will read scripture and get nothing out of it.  You will sit in silence and the silence will be overtaken by your worries and burdens or there will be nothing at all and you will wonder what the point is.  But then, there are moments like this.  Life given moments.  Moments of epiphany.  Moments when you say AHA.  Those moments will never come if you don't practice the disciplines.