Psalm 51:10-12

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”

What’s in our hearts?

The picture above was my first successful attempt at Origami. It came from an exercise at our retreat that invited us to make art, to explore color, and to create something without being hard on ourselves, paying more attention to process than product. As I looked at the picture I had created, most of it made me smile, but some of it I didn’t love. There were little squiggles that felt like they didn’t fit. But then, we folded the paper into hearts through the origami process, and I was surprised to find that the squiggles actually came together in a way that I found beautiful at the end of the process. The answer to the question of what I had made was quite different than I imagined.

Our leader, Kaley Ransbottom, invited us to write something on the back before we started, realizing that the message would be on the inside of the heart. It could be a word or a phrase, or a verse that would remind us what we had chosen to say to ourselves every time we saw the heart. This morning as we enter the contemplative season of Lent in the Christian church year – I’m wondering what message you would write on your heart.

Prayer: Dear God, Please help me to be open to the encouragement I find in knowing you have more beauty in mind than I can possibly imagine. In Jesus Name, Amen

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever been surprised by how something you made turns out?
2. What’s the word on your heart?
3. Take some time to notice color and light in your world today!