Word for today: Yes
The feast of the Annunciation remembers Mary’s own pilgrim journey of saying “yes.” She walked into the unknown with only her trust in God to carry her…..What we are not told in the story is the long interior journey of the heart Mary went through before she said yes. This is where our imagination must enter the story and make it our own.
—Christine Valters Paintner, The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within
Reflective Question: Can you imagine Mary pondering the possibilities and weighing the options before reaching her decision, resisting her “yes”, even while she felt compelled to surrender to the will of the Divine? Where have the annunciations in your life come from? Who were your angels who came calling?
Next steps:
- Let the word, quote, and question inspire your creative practice today. (Download the list of daily words here.) Use the hashtag #soulofapilgrim when sharing on social media.
- Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks Facebook group to share your art and writing with others.
- Name your commitment to creative practice in the comments at this post (and enter the drawing to win a free copy of The Soul of a Pilgrim.)
- Share this post with others and invite them to participate (they can sign up here)
- Order a copy of Christine’s newest book The Soul of a Pilgrim
- Walk the Ancient Paths: Join us on pilgrimage to sacred landscapes>>
9 Responses
combining yesterday (call) and today’s words:
sacred invitation
to
radical transformation
yields
eager affirmation
Beautiful, Terri…I like how you’ve combined them!
“yes”
truth in heart
(to accompany poem above)
“yes”
yes
to
this heart
calling ~
longing ~
waiting so long
yes
even with
(old) fears beliefs
dropping by
yes
to the
angels
angels of this heart
guiding ~ loving
yes
i honor yes
i be yes
now
yes!
with gratitude ~
`
beautfiful and meaningful for me. thank you.
Your poem speaks to me, JoAnn. Thank you for sharing!
the lord comes to me asking my yes to his love. he does not ask me to bare his savior to the world, or build a ship for his people or lead them out of Egypt or any other great task. he asks only that i allow him to come in his own way at his own time into my flesh and soul and mind. My mind is hesitant due to its rational intellect that says it is blasphemous for you to think such a thing, that god wants to only love you without purpose or reason or expectation of return. my soul and body are hesitant due to years of rape by the masculine over my life and the scars that instinctively say no. but still my yes utters from my breath, knowing as i open my self in abandonment to god’s penetration that i am easy prey for all the boundless dimensions of the psyche where he dwells. how do i say yes to my fears of pregnancy, or fears of infection with ego mania, or fears of infidelity and possible rejection for the discovery of who i am at my deepest place where god asks to come? i can not say no for even my no’s are an eternal longing for an unconditional yes to all he is. today i will look for the angels, overshadowing cloud, and the yes of my deepest being. and follow the lead one step at a time to this destiny that is mine.
Beautiful, Patty. I can relate to this line: “i can not say no for even my no’s are an eternal longing for an unconditional yes.”
thanks alizibeth. you encourage me by sharing my situation. praise god for kindred souls.