as if You were a candle to cast light
into the darkness that surrounds me
both by day and through the night,
and when I do, what I find is what
I’d thought I needed, and so I throw
away the candle, and so I turn from
the inner spark with its warming glow
which alone can still my restless heart
and carry my longings back to You.
—Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart by Jon M. Sweeney & Mark S. Burrows, p. 98
Prayer for Our Community from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations:
“O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all beings. Help us become the community that vulnerable shares each other’s burdens and the weight of glory. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of the world. … Knowing you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God, amen.”
May we see Love’s threads —
Light stretched so thin yet holding
vigil in our hearts.
2019
Oh, the joy! to see that green backdrop come to life again with both tree friends and my dear friend, Peggy!
“Here is where the holy dwells: in the cells of our own bodies, in the veins of water that course below the surface of the earth, in the clouds that lift and carry our prayers, mingle them with the prayers of our ancestors, and release them where they are most needed.” -Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy
2018
Tongues of creativity call us home.
2017
[In 2017, I created a new website for the Grunewald Guild.]
Color-coded calendars bring me great joy. (Ask my family members who each had their own color back in the day: Paul, green; David, blue; Ellen, red; Jim, black; me, pencil.)
2014
Notes from today’s worship at Living Word Lutheran Church. Hoping I have honored your mom’s story, Pastor Jeremy.
“Seven Years of Wonder” is a daily look back at my creative journaling posts since 2014. I began this journey on Feb. 11, 2021, and hope to continue through Feb. 10, 2022. What am I learning about my art and faith journey thus far? What has remained constant? Where have I been changed? How is this impacting present and future art-making?
A deep bow of gratitude to you for keeping me company on this journey.
vonda drees art 