From Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, I participated in a Lenten devotional activity sponsored by ReThink Church. At first, it was hard to remember and I would squeak in a photo just under the wire of midnight. But then, as I got into the habit of reading my ‘word’ of the day, it became a prayer and a thoughtful partner to my day-in-day-out life.

I have no grand delusions, here. 🙂 I’m a part-time chaplain, full-time everything else. There’s far more eloquent writers and more skilled photographers in the world!

Over time, my days had a kind of rhythm. Several times the word reminded me of a photo I had taken in other places, so I would go searching through my photos to find the image I had in mind. (Note to self: I need a better photo management system!) Sharing what I had learned and found meaningful in this simple exercise on my blog became even more spiritually renewing for me.

I also participated in a Lenten prayer writing journey with Rachel Hackenberg. Her writing prompts, based on Scripture, allowed me to stop and reflect and respond to God about the questions that Rachel asked. Sometimes, there was a wonderful confluence of my photos and her writing prompts! And again, as I populated my blog with poems and photos, I was the one who benefited.

Easter Saturday, I was reflecting on the Easter morning scriptures. I thought about the women who travelled to the tomb on that Day of Resurrection. They became my muse, and the meditation video poured out of my creativity — a product of 6 weeks of praying and then pondering the intersection of images and a life of faith.

If you were along for the ride and visited, reading and reflecting with me, thank you. I’m glad to share it with you.

So now – as this Lenten exercise is finished, I’m considering what’s next. I doubt I will make a daily entries and photos as I did during Lent. But I will try, whenever possible, to respond to the events and life I experience with God. And as I turn to other things.. like cleaning up my cluttered study, I hope to keep my heart focused and centered on the ongoing journey. And the mundane tasks like laundry, family, study and prayer will continue.

Now I’m hanging out with Cleopas. Life is moving ahead the day after Easter. The days are full of needs and wants and tasks and goofing off. And like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, I can get preoccupied with life’s events, and forget… Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! 

All this to say, as I walk the road ahead, I want to keep my eyes open for the risen Christ, walking with me, reminding me when I have blind eyes, and them remembering to blog about what I learn as we go.

From Luke 24:

¹³ On that same day, two disciples were traveling to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were discussing these things, Jesus himself arrived and joined them on their journey. ¹⁶ They were prevented from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” They stopped, their faces downcast.

¹⁸ The one named Cleopas replied, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who is unaware of the things that have taken place there over the last few days?”

¹⁹ He said to them, “What things?”

They said to him, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth. Because of his powerful deeds and words, he was recognized by God and all the people as a prophet. ²⁰ But our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. ²¹ We had hoped he was the one who would redeem Israel. All these things happened three days ago. ²² But there’s more: Some women from our group have left us stunned. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ and didn’t find his body. They came to us saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who told them he is alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women said. They didn’t see him.”

²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! Your dull minds keep you from believing all that the prophets talked about. ²⁶  Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷ Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets.

²⁸ When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. ²⁹ But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?”

³³ They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴ They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread.