I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19, NRSV
As we near the end of the long journey toward Easter, a busy time for pastors and layfolk alike, I ponder the words of Isaiah and the relief and refreshment of a river in the desert.
For this Friday Five, name five practices, activities, people or _____ (feel free to fill in something I may be forgetting) that for you are rivers in the desert.
1. Purposeless driving
I love to just set out and think...pray...drive. It's nice to see where I end up, but what's along the way is even nicer.
2. Hanging wit' my sistahs
My three sistahs are renewal itself -- my favorite way to recharge. If I could bottle Kali's wit and Lil's laugh and Rissy's phrasing, well... no one would buy it, but I'd be awfully happy.
3. Listening to good music... or not
Sometimes I like to listen to Palestrina or Vaughan Williams or Rachmoninoff really loudly. Sometimes I want to hear Fred Astaire or the Andrews Sisters. Sometimes it's Uncle Tupelo or Paul Simon in the background. But sometimes quiet is what my soul really needs.
4. Having an empty dining room table
Yeah, it sounds weird, but clearing off the table in the parsonage's open living plan offers visual respite like nothing else.
5. Watching Dennis and Annalivia play
I love, love, love it when the loves of my life have laughter just bubbling up between them. That is beyond refreshing; it's sacred to me.
13 comments:
Oh, I do understand the beauty of a clear table.
Oh, I miss actually enjoying purposeless driving... not long after moving from the foothills to the city, driving just got to be a pain! (I did do some of it when I had some free time in my hometown last summer, though. It was in my daddy's truck rather than my own car, which probably helped me recover the feeling.)
A clear table, an empty sink, coats all hung. Such simple things, but so soothing to the eye and soul.
lovely, April... thanks for playing.
Mags
I too love driving...
I understand the clear table too, though I'd never have thought of listing it.
Great play thanks.
(o)
love,
Deb
Lovely play! I understand the clear table, too. I tend to let things clutter up until I get frustrated with it and put it all away. Things seem to appear in "my" chair that I didn't put there, and when I want to relax, there are five things I have to deal with first. (This one would NOT be a river in the desert, maybe a dry riverbed where a river used to be.)
April great play. I do that kind of driving too. And I understand clearing the table, the desk, the counter, wherever the papers and things pile up.
You go girl.
Mama always said to me, "Chairs are for people not for things!" (referring to dining room chairs). Yes a clean table.
I can relate to all but the driving. But I'd love to ride with you while you drive and we'll pray together!
wonderful play!
driving and a clean table--amen!
it sounds like you have terrific sistahs as well!
A clear table (or kitchen island, in our house) is wonderful since it's so rare!
I was inspired by the clear table, and went and cleared of my table. Of course, now the stuff from the table is sitting on other pieces of throughout the house, but at least the table is clean!
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