Creating Space

Fasting & Feasting: A Lenten Retreat Wk 2

Image: Vessel, Pastel 40×40 Ron Monsma

Snowbound
There is time to stop traveling…
to get off other people’s subways
to halt airplanes from landing in your life.

A time to refuel yourself.

A time to be snowbound
within your own private space
where the only number you dial
is your own.
— — — Natasha Lynne Vodges

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)

Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the
dough.” (Matthew 13:33).

Reflection by Kathy Prudden

I love to bake bread.

I love the smell, the feel of the dough in my hands, and even the amount of time that it takes. In a standard bread recipe the yeast must first be dissolved in water that is at a specific temperature with nutrients, such as salt and sugar, added to help the yeast come alive.

There are then one or two lengthy periods in which the dough must sit quietly in order for the yeast to work its’ magic and cause the bread to rise. This period of inactivity from the baker allows for great activity on the part of the yeast. The baker must step aside and wait in order for the yeast to permeate the dough.

Judy Browns’ poem similarly speaks of the importance of allowing space in order for a fire to burn to its’ full potential. It seems, then, that it is necessary to create space in order for dough, fire, and our lives, to develop into it’s full, rich, warm potential. In this period of Lenten ‘fasting and feasting’ perhaps we also need space to become aware of what we are hungry for, and to hear what the Divine is saying to us.

Week 2 Activities:

This week intentionally create space by taking 10 minutes (or more) once a day to step away from your usual noise and activity. You could:

· Look out your window, or stop at a park on the way home, and watch what is happening (or not happening) outside;

· Take a walk (without headphones or earbuds) and let the sounds, feel, sights, and smells surround you;

· Make visual art or music with the intention of simply playing; scribble, color in a coloring book, let your fingers run up and down a keyboard;

· Dance and move to a piece of music, to the music in your head, or in silence;

· Select a word or phrase from a poem and let it sit with you and go where it wishes;

· Play.

Pay attention to what may be trying to speak to you, what is bubbling up. Write in your journal, or make art, about what you notice. If you want to build on this, try turning off your tech devices, and other stimulation, for an hour or an afternoon. What are you now aware of in your surroundings, relationships, or yourself?

Poetry for Meditation & Reflection:

FIRE

What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.

So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build
open spaces
in the same way
we have learned
to pile on the logs,
then we can come to see how
it is fuel, and absence of the fuel
together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log
lightly from time to time.

A fire
grows
simply because the space is there,
with openings
in which the flame
that knows just how it wants to burn
can find its way.

— — – Judy Brown

Only this:
that I may never hunger
for that
which is not
your bread.

— — Jan Richardson

There are several ways that you may specifically engage with the weekly material:

– personalize one of the poems to create your own;

– respond to the poem through poetry, journaling, or other art form;

– underline words or phrases that speak to you from the reflection, poetry, and/or scripture and create a poem from these words;

– create art in response to the reflection;

– maintain an ongoing journal of your experiences with the material;engage in a weekly discussion with someone about your experience.

We would love to hear from you. If you have responses, reflections, poetry, images or music you would like to share please send Lisa an email by clicking this link!

This Online Lenten Retreat is also available via a weekly email. Please click here if you would like to receive the retreat in your inbox until Easter.

Learning to See: Fermentation →

Learning to See: Drowning in Process →

Learning to See: For Mature Audiences Only →

Learning to See: A Surveyor’s Map →