Monday, March 4, 2013

A Pause in Lent

Phew!
Life is slowing down a little - we still don't know the cause of Son 1's Friday rash, but it doesn't seem to have been anything scary related to his operation. He's feeling pretty good now, and is currently cooking tortillas (from scratch - slowly...) ready for a Hairy Biker's Mexican feast that's planned for Son 2's return from the Pyrenees this evening.
Like Ang, I've been thinking of certain key verses from the Fast/Feast Lent poem:
  • Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.
  • Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.
  • Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
  • Fast from discouragements; Feast on hope.
And like Elizabethd, I've found the order of the seasons really encouraging:
  • Fast from worry; Feast on divine order.
Ben bought me these beautiful hanging vases for Christmas. He suspended them from our little chandelier on Saturday and put the first two daffodils from our garden into them - a wonderful sign of the changing season!
 
And another really positive thing that happened to me this week reminds me of the power of random acts of kindness:
 
I was hurrying home to give the boys lunch (it's the holidays!), and really didn't have time between lessons to manage this and also eat myself. I popped into Intermarché to pick up some simple lunch supplies and rushed to the checkout. The woman in the queue ahead of me (in her early 60s) looked at my smart clothes and said: 'Are you working? If you need to get back to work, please go ahead of me. I don't work now but I remember what it was like...' Phew! One little act of kindness and thoughtfulness saved my day and has been on my mind ever since.

11 comments:

Pom Pom said...

Your hanging vases are lovely!
I'm enjoying the Pauses. I couldn't join in this time (too much Willows hoopla!) but I do appreciate the shared thoughts.

Elizabethd said...

Kindness. Isn't it wonderful?

Jane and Chris said...

I'm enjoying the Pauses, and I'm so grateful that others have found Fast From/Feast On as meaningful as I did.
I've not been able to join in this year...so many things occupying my mind ...and Lent crept up om me this year!
Jane x

Winkel's Crazy Ideas said...

Random acts of kindness - they can seem so insignificant, yet they can light up anothers day. I still remember an angry looking woman in the shop a few days ago. My daughter smiled at her and the womans face broke into the loveliest smile, a smile that touched me. Blessings Pam

Unknown said...

Lovely hanging vases. Glad things are getting easier.

Lorrie said...

Kindness shown is such a blessing.

magsmcc said...

The kindness of human nature- it's nice to experience that in the hurly-burly!

Kezzie said...

What a lovely thing to do! I must remember to do little things like that!
Your vases are gorgeous!x

Fat Dormouse said...

As Kezzie said - I too should remember to offer random acts of kindness as well as look to receive them...
Your hanging vases are lovely.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful act of kindness. I think small kindnesses to strangers often mean so much more than we realise.

I love your daffodils (one of my favourite flowers) and the hope they bring, the changing season, the light after the dark, life after death is wonderful.

BTW, I hope it is ok that I am not using the feast/fast poem - I love it, but nothing jumped out to me about how I wanted to use it and at the same time the idea I am using occurred.

Unknown said...

Oh Floss, I'm so glad your son is doing better. And what a sweet blessing from God at the store as well. Thank you again for hosting this special series to help us all as we prepare our hearts the wondrous celebration of Jesus' victory over death and our eternal salvation in Christ! Thank you too, for the lovely poem to remind us to follow Paul's wonderful advice - "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Have a blessed week!