The Bride

Life gets out of focus sometimes. Occasionally we have to stop and ask ourselves, "What's the hurry?"

I've spent several hours scraping, cleaning, priming and painting our garage doors the last couple of days. They are bright white again. I always have a satisfying feeling when I can make something clean. Maybe it is just a feeling of personal accomplishment; or maybe there is a deeper sense of participation with the Son who washes the world.

To back off from responsibilities for awhile and regain a perspective on life is a cleansing experience. To listen to the birds and pay attention to the plants...to touch the earth... As the poet Mary Oliver says, one can live life as "a bride married to amazement." But if we lose the wonder of life by thinking we are indispensable, our perceptions of ourselves and others become cloudy and we never get to the wedding.

[photo made at Cox Arboretum]