Prayer Walks

Last evening, while taking out the trash, the breezy air beckoned me to go for a walk. I was feeling a little tired and it was already starting to get late but I just couldn't put it off. I'm glad I didn't. The air was the perfect temperature; the exhaled breath of a passing thunderstorm. The breeze was mild, stirring the grasses and weeds that surround my home. The fields were a vibrant green, wildflowers popping up all over, and the trees have recently sprung with their newborn wrinkly leaves. It was one of those nights I wish I could bottle up and save for another day. There was something about it that was needful for my spirit.

One of my favorite lines from the Adam & Eve story, in Genesis, says: "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." I love that image so much--God walking in the cool of the day--perhaps because I'm glad we have that in common. Nothing quite invokes the same satisfied feeling as an evening walk in the summer. I always feel like I'm breathing in a hint of magic, or promise, or maybe just a whole lot of gratitude to live, and breathe, and experience such lovely moments in time.

  

So last night I walked, and God joined me, and I felt my spirit expand; like it always does when I'm being most real. We talked about ALL of the things I found beautiful, ALL of my gratitude, my hopes for the summer, the person I am still becoming, a few fears, and some of my pain. But mostly, I just felt my heart swell for all He has given me. It was a sacred moment. Walking with God always is.

Once again I was reminded of two things:

1. I need wild places.

There is something about the natural world that encourages me to dig out the best that is in me. It grounds me and helps me sift out what is most important. I need this, and if I go for too long without spending some time really seeing, or experiencing, the natural world, I feel like part of me is missing.

2. God knows what I need.

When I bought my house I had no idea I lived so close to such a beautiful, wild, spot of land, but He sure did! There is a marsh about a half mile away where I can hear the frogs sing (which is one of the things I miss most about my last neighborhood), and last summer I was able to see fireflies in a field near this curling tail of a river. Fireflies! In Spanish Fork! For all of the things that are hard in my life there is still a WHOLE LOT of goodness and mercy. And that my friends is what makes the journey so very worth it.

"A Shared Burden is a Lighter Burden"

Today my heart is remembering this woman: 

Briana Blackwelder 

(Photo courtesy of Alisha Stamper)

 Tragically, she was killed in a car accident near my home just two years ago. 

She is one woman I hope to emulate someday; 

one of my heroes. 

From the first moment I met her I could feel her authenticity. She was a woman who lived according to truth and I couldn't help but admire her unassuming power.  

She was a young midwife with an exceptional skill; caring for women. 

Some of her close friends recorded this interview a short while before she passed away. 

http://vimeo.com/22934125

Watch it. You can't help but feel her goodness. 

She can talk about anything and her vibrant spirit seeps through. Though she speaks mostly about her profession as a midwife, I love these universal words that apply to all of us:

"I think that we feel isolated in our burden, 

or in our story. 

Whatever we've gone through, 

whatever was difficult for us, 

that was just related to us. 

It didn't really relate to a group of us....

But there isn't a lot of watering hole type activities 

where we just come together and have conversations 

about our experiences as women, 

~and~ 

I think a shared burden is a lighter burden."

I hope to honor her in this way; at the watering hole, sharing burdens, so you can tell your story.