Shades of Blue



One of my “resolutions” for these Lenten days is to slow down enough to truly see and appreciate the wonders of God all around us.  As I have said before, I can get so busy or preoccupied with the details of life that I forget to pick my head up, open my eyes and ears and truly take in the awesome power of God.

One morning last week as I began my day in a corner of my room designated for prayer and reflection; I looked up and out the window facing southwest and saw the most beautiful midnight blue sky illumined only by the three quarter moon making its descent.  When I turned to face the other window, facing east, I saw lighter blues and hues of turquoise as the sun began to rise.  Still later in the morning while swimming at the “Y”, I looked up from my laps and out the many windows to a sky so blue it was almost white.  In the course of about 1 ½ hours, I witnessed more hues of blue than Crayola ever imagined.  In these colors I see the waning of the Winter season giving way to the hope of Spring.  I see the presence of God caring for our earth as God brings forth night unto day, darkness into light.

So what?  The “so what” of this for me is truly an expression of the presence of God. Seeing all these variations on one color helps me to imagine and begin to understand the many ways God loves me and the countless individuals in our world.  The gradual revealing of the spectrum of color helps me to see the differences while hardly noticing the divisions as one hue bleeds into the next.  

The season of Lent is in part about taking time to empty ourselves of that part of ourselves that is too self-centered, too materialistic or too self-righteous.  When we turn from that which weighs us down with unnecessary judgements and possessions, we are more able to turn toward God and become more fully the person God wants us to be.  I find that as I ask God to help me rid myself of my sinfulness, I have so much more room and appreciation for all that life has to hold.  This includes all people, created in God’s image and likeness.  I become more attuned to the many hues of God’s creative energy and power and find it is far less important for me to judge.  It is so much more important for me just to see and hear and touch and feel. Of course, I am not there yet, but this new openness is worth the effort.  This is a prayer for my heart and for our world.  How about you?

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