“The rains are over and gone … glad songs are heard!”  This little line from the Scripture has danced through my consciousness today as we enjoyed sunshine, puffy clouds, and cool air for the first time in awhile.  Amidst our prayer on the Resurrection stories in our retreat, I heard God’s invitation to consider not only the Word in Jesus Christ, but God’s first Word to us:  Creation.  So much beauty here.  It’s not hard to notice.  And there is always the deeper invitation to heightened awareness:  to really see as if seeing for the first time, to tune up one’s hearing, to smell the sweet smell of newly mown grass and clover, to feel the warmth of the sun and savor the breeze on a non-humid day, and to taste with delight the delicious food being cooked up for us by two of our Sister Culinary Queens.  A day of living with enlivened senses.  I feel invited to bring this awareness into the days that will all too soon follow the retreat.

If the weather forecast holds for our corner of God’s country, tomorrow should be an equally lovely day.  How will you plan to see … hear … smell … touch … taste the Created Beauty that surrounds you?