Worn Away

I've been doing a lot of thinking and talking to the Lord lately, which has been wonderful.  There truly is nothing like His presence and His voice speaking to me that  makes me feel more alive, or brings more meaning to my life.  He recently brought back to mind something that He showed me many years ago when I was at the ocean:

I had spent the day wandering up and down the beach collecting sea glass and sitting on the rocks for hours.  I was feeling a bit frustrated with where my life was at, and where I felt the church was at.  I was questioning Him about why it seemed like we did the same things over and over again without any real, apparent change.  We attended services that were much the same each week, we sang the same songs over and over, prayed the same prayers, and listened to messages that ultimately all boiled down to the same thing.  

I was questioning the effectiveness of it all, and as I sat there I heard Him say to me "Look around you."  I looked around at the many small stones at the water's edge that had been worn into smooth, round eggs, as well as some of the larger rocks that rose up out of the sand.  I even looked at the pastel shaded glass that was in my hand that resembled precious stones rather than a piece of glass.  He said to me "How do you think these stones and this glass became this way?  It was by the constant washing of the water over their edges day after day.  The same tides coming in and going out every single day."  I looked beyond the rocks on the beach to the jagged ones that lay by the road, just beyond the water's reach.  He said "The jagged edges of your life are worn away by the washing of the word, by the washing of my presence, until one day you no longer resemble a broken piece of glass, but a beautiful, precious stone."

I've never forgotten those words and that illustration that He gave me that day.  And it's something to think about when I get frustrated with the sameness of it all.

Time Crunches

Life has been rather hectic this month and I've not had time to pull the random ideas floating around in my head and develop them into meaningful entries!  The girls and I continue to enjoy our daily walks, especially as we see Spring fast approaching.  Like so many others, I wish I could make more time in my days for creative explorations, but figuring out what I have to give up in order to do that is an ongoing debate I never seem to resolve.

My sister, Bren has created a few mixed media pages in her art journal using some of my photos.  She has one posted on her blog, I'm waiting to see the other :-)

One day soon, when I resolve some of my time issues I'd love to take a Photo Shop class from DJ Pettitt
In the meantime, the girls and I will continue to explore as we walk and I'll attempt to play with my camera while holding onto their leashes!