My friend and I were up before dawn for the walk to the beach to see the sunrise. Then we sat on a swing that faced the ocean and did morning prayers to greet the new day.
Returning back to the Blue Bird Cottage, enjoying the first coffee of the morning, I continued to read and pray. As is my custom when I travel, I prayed a month's worth of the St. Mary's daily cycle of prayer. I love holding the name of each St. Mary's parishioner in my hands and heart and lifting them to The Holy One. It's a particularly good practice as I prepare to return to be with them for worship in the morning.
Yesterday afternoon I sat at the table the looks over the marsh and created a few cards. As the sun set, I held friends and family in prayer.
Having time to wander through devotional practices this second week of Lent, I found writings of Mary Oliver to read; an Anglican website with a poem to read each day of Lent; a couple of new daily emails to subscribe and enjoy; and, of course, my quotidian spiritual practices. Holding prayer beads I'm using for Lent as I did Centering Prayer each morning was especially precious.
My friend and I decided to live as simply as possible this trip--traveling less, eating out rarely, and not shopping except for groceries. It is Lent, after all. This morning, as we prepare to pack up, we'll eat whatever food we have left. The money we've saved will go to the local Tybee food bank (we decided that a cash gift is probably a more useful for the ministry than going and buying groceries to donate).
We've let the light be our clock. We've allowed the rhythm of the day be our schedule. We've laughed a lot.
My Word for the week has been a line from Mary Oliver (Evidence: Poems):
Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.
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