#lentphotoaday weekend catch-up for April 12th, 13th and 14th “SILENT,” “CELEBRATE,” and “PREPARED“
I guess I can’t really get myself out of Saturday’s prompt by being SILENT. (insert cheeky grin). This is my journey and it’s pointless for me not to be on the actual ride, so off we go.
There is “A time to keep silent, and a time to speak” – Ecclesiates 3:7.
I have spent my whole life getting into trouble being too vocal. Mostly oversharing. I think it’s a battle of self-control. Proverbs 17:28 says “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Focusing on being interested in listening, instead of talking is always good practice. In my younger years, I think it might have come off as more cute and a little kooky. Now, it definitely puts people off and I think it’s one of the reasons that, particularly right now, I’m short in the friend department. I’m nothing if not self-aware. That’s a 2025 goal to find a new friend. I am putting in the work and the reflection and I do think opening myself up to be more spiritual is part of the process. It’s just a symptom of being lonely. It can be corrected. For starters, I have been working on trying not to share every little feeling that I have with every little conversation I have. It’s been a practice that I have been working on for at least a year. Sometimes I think it backfires because I think it just makes me come off as a little weird and distant. I’m still tweaking it, as I continue to be a work in progress. Getting out more, focusing on others, searching for ways to put myself into the land of the living is another perfect spring goal. In the SILENT moments, my heart, my ears and my mind remain open to everything.
In our current political environment, it’s hard to find the CELEBRATIONS. But they are all around us, we just have to open up our eyes to find them. Birthdays and anniversaries happen around us every day. Last week I got to celebrate two amazing birthdays of two out of three of my outstanding children. These were CELEBRATIONS that were responses to God’s gifts of the blessings we have in our lives. My oldest turned a quarter of a century and that’s certainly a humdinger. My baby turned 19 and while she was a thousand miles away at college, I worked really hard to make sure she felt celebrated, even when she was not with her family for the first time in her life. I sent her a cheesecake and she loved it. I went out of my comfort zone and went to a Comicon show with my son; loved every minute. Meet the world’s newest D&D fan. I figured out workarounds to make their celebrations happen and being to CELEBRATE joy and thanks of one of God’s many great gifts.
Lots of different meanings in the Bible for PREPARED. It can mean preparing for events coming, as in spiritual readiness or just simply packing a good backpack to be ready to do God’s good work. I would like to think that packing that bag and figuring out what to put in it is kind of part of my journey here. I am exploring what tools and supplies I may need to become a better spiritual version of myself. Noah built the Ark, The Wise versions prepared their lamps, Israelites preparing for Passover. This way, when the time comes that I need to call on my spirituality for help and guidance, I am PREPARED.
Love you.
HEATHERLAND 