desert blooms
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 11:08 AM 
"escaping into the desert until her time." my morning reading today ended with these words. they feel prophetic. they're written in the book of revelation - the most prophetic chapter of the bible.
"escaping into the desert until her time." when will it be my time? the voice answers loudly, "now. now is your time. it's time to bloom and shine and spread further into the world."
this seems to be a theme carried over from last week as christine and i explored boundaries, edges and frames with our soul care supervision group. i ventured out into the amazing sunshine to see what images wanted to be framed within my camera. my first stop was the playground where i couldn't take my eyes off the joyful grade school students at recess. their energy was captivating. full of brilliant colors and images of 
movement and exuberance. flying and leaping and raising their arms in the air. the little girl with her face down on the ground. not in defeat, but in a holy movement. the fresh colors drew me throughout my walk and even my own brilliant reflection called out to be photographed.
now is the time to come out of the desert. my roots are planted in the ground. deep and solid. lovable and unshakable. heaven knows i've tried to uproot myself. i've swayed with the winds - bent even - still i continue to flow with the breeze rather than break in the storm. this is beauty. wonderful and beautiful. it's my time to come out
of the desert, and it's my time to go into the physical desert and see what needs to be said to me. to lie under a billion stars. wow. i can't believe i'm going. i'm really going. the time to come out of the desert. how do things grow in the desert? those lone blooms - they're there. i've seen them. they will be my beacon. "escaping into the desert until her time."
(btw - there's a pilgrimage to the sinai desert in the fall that has my name on it...)
Reader Comments (7)
A thoughtful and beautiful post. I've heard, from my Mr. Tinkerbell (who's spent much time in Africa) that the desert is an awe-inspiringly silent place, like nowhere on earth. Spiritual, really.
Have a great rest of the week!
I saw this post before:
http://themercyblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/women-stuff.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheMercyBlog+(The+Mercy+Blog)
Interesting.
Lucy,
I'm struck by the willingness and brilliance of your diving into the depths of metaphor. Your words burst with fecundity and touch deep places within me. I've long known this and now i realize why. It is no surprise to me that Jesus taught using parables. What does amaze me is how so many of his followers insist on taking scripture so literally.
In reading your post, i'm seeing my resistance to plunging into the metaphor of my own life. I see it as a hiding. An indication of how i have taken my life WAY too seriously...sucking the juice out of it in the name of rationalism and prudence.
You've inspired me to lean into the metaphor that is me. Conjuring metaphor in my life brings me closer to the realization of what Byron Katie asks with such simplicity: "Who would you be without your story?"
Embracing the metaphor helps me to see the Truth of who i really am without any of my stories.
Warmly,
Brett
"We're all having the same experience...we're just running a different story" —Byron Katie
Bloom, lucy, bloom...
But you're already blooming, of course. We all see this :-)
Enjoy the billion stars and sing their song for us when you return.
Blessings.
tinkerbell, sue & claire - thanks for popping in here to join in my desert blooms. wild stuff a-stirring!
brett - your words are wise and tender. my hope and prayer for you (and the rest of us) is that you will truly dive into the beautiful metaphor that is you!!!
i find myself wishing we could have another one of those lovely conversations in brooklyn...
peace to you, friend. keep me posted!!
Your posts are never easy, but they're always enlightening. So beautiful...so inspiring...