WOW – Epiphany – vonda drees art

“There was a time when I teetered precariously with an awkward foot in each of two worlds — the scientific and the Indigenous. But then I learned to fly. Or at least try. It was the bees that showed me how to move between different flowers — to drink the nectar and gather pollen from both. It is this dance of cross-pollination that can produce a new species of knowledge, a new way of being in the world.” —Robin Wall Kimmerer

“I have come to realize that a mother lode of strength lies waiting in all of us, unmined gold yearning to gleam in the sunlight.” —George Fowler

Welcome to Day 17 of the Wonders of Worship (WOW) series. Today we ponder Epiphany.

Life forecast from bees:

The pollen’s knee-deep out there.

Let’s dance our way home!

Ways to Engage:

Practice Visio Divina (receive, reflect, respond, rest) with the painting.
You may notice that from time to time I include a haiku in 5-7-5 syllabic form. I invite you to give it a try when there’s an idea you want to express creatively.
Download the B&W image. Color it on your own or with a friend. Let it inspire further contemplation/conversation.
You do you. Trust your intuition and engage in the way your heart desires.

I can’t resist adding just one more poem from Mary Oliver:

Don’t Hesitate
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

To download the black and white image for personal use: on a computer, click and drag the image to your desktop; on a phone, press on the picture until it gives you the option to save it to your photos. The image is formatted to fit on an 8.5″x11″ piece of paper, but feel free to print it whatever size you’d like.

Background: I created a series of forty 5″x7″ watercolor paintings inspired by the elements of worship. It was work commissioned by a project with Nourishing Vocation with Children at St. Olaf College, a program funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative.

As the paintings are shared, you may notice a pattern: