A SACRED CALL
http://www.barbaraparentini.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=4834&view=post&articleid=65412&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Thursday, March 25, 2010 • Barbara Parentini
After an unusually cold North Carolina winter, I've welcomed spring with open arms! I'm overjoyed to see robins and cardinals flitting about in trees draped with lacy white blossoms, and flowerbeds bursting with glorious pansies. After church, I brought home bunches of daffodils, and arranged a lush bouquet for the livingroom. I set the sunny buttercups on a small table under my favorite mirror, their frilly faces smiling back at me in the reflection. Simple beauty gives such pleasure.
I snapped pictures hoping to capture the daffodils' delicate forms, and praised God for His magnificent creation. I found myself chuckling, and said aloud, "Lord, how did you make these? They are so beautful!" I hope He was pleased with my admiration.
While spring ushers in rebirth, the Easter season whispers a timely message of promise. I am listening. . .
Please join me in welcoming a new friend, Elizabeth Cottrell, with her lovely poem for Lent. We have just begun to share our love of words, words from the heart that connect and heal us. You can learn more about Elizabeth at
www.HEARTSPOKEN.com Please let her know you heard about her on this Blog.
What is God saying to you in this Lenten season?
LENT CALLS
Lent calls to me again . . .
To do what?
Like Martha, I tend towards doing
Doing is something I understand
Chairing a committee
Taking food to the sick
Reading the Bible
Lent calls to me again . . .
He wants more of me than I've ever given
More than Lenten study
More than giving up dessert
More than extra church services
Lent calls to me again . . .
He wants more of me and I'm frightened
Frightened of losing control
Frightened of letting go
Frightened of what He might ask me to do if I really listened
Lent calls to me again . . .
I feel a yearning, a tugging towards something more
Whispers of a love unimaginable
Glimpses of a relationship unshakable
Tastes of a water so clear and sweet that my thirst is slaked forever
Lent calls to me again . . .
A step is all I can manage, Lord
A hand extended
A head bowed
A conscious placing of myself on your Potter's wheel
Lent calls to me again . . .
Help me with the hard part, Lord
Help me surrender
Help me abandon myself to you
Help me reconcile myself to you
Lent calls to me again . . .
Here I am, Lord
Elizabeth Herbert Cottrell
March 5, 2003
Lent