Monday Manna
"Something God Alone Can See" + an Announcement!
If you are new to Monday Manna, I’m so glad you are here. My prayer with this little pause on Monday mornings is to offer some nourishment (“manna”) for you — via my reflection, prayer, and painting — as you are nourishing the world around you. Together, we are watching for the ways God is with us and for us as we take one day at a time….
Good morning, friends, and deep peace to you as we enter this Holy Week…
This week feels big for a number of reasons — most importantly, these are special, sacred days leading up to Easter and everything represented in that (how we need the hope of Jesus, the promise of resurrection, and gift of new life from death more than ever right now!!). But also, tomorrow I turn forty years old, and I am at long last doing a soft and small launch of my new Etsy shop (more on that below)! The threads of this marked birthday alongside the creating of this new offering are something only God could weave together.
I tend to be pretty reflective in general, but especially around my birthday. Each year is always full of surprise — the grief and loss I never saw coming alongside the organic growth and gifts. I come back again and again to one of my favorite hymns I know I’ve shared here before, Hymn of Promise, with the repeated refrain, “something God alone can see….” Isn’t this true of our lives and how they’ve turned out so far?
I’ve been reading more from the book I shared earlier this Lent, A Different Kind of Fast, by Christine Valters Paintner. This week, the focus has been on letting life unfold and ripen, rather than planning and controlling. As a type-A enneagram 1, I’ve always been someone who wants a plan. And, as I look back on my life, so many of my original plans did not come to be. Or if they did, it was in a different kind of way, or on a slower timeline. We all know that planning is, in many ways, an act in trying to control our lives. But as we make our plans, life happens. And while sometimes this involves catastrophic losses — people who leave us through death or by choice, illnesses we never predicted, disasters that change the whole inner and outer landscape of life — so, too, are there the beautiful, life-giving, quiet, and more subtle shifts made by the Holy Spirit in our souls that direct us, little by little, in a direction we hadn’t foreseen.
There’s a quote I especially love from Paintner in which she encourages us to enter into some solitude and presence that we might pay attention to how God is at work (timely with last week’s post). She says, “The great Source of Silence invites me to soften my grip and pay attention to how life is actually arising. Sometimes we are so busy making plans and directing our lives, we forget there is a greater wisdom at work already nurturing new life for us.”*
As I enter into a new chapter of life, I am in awe of all the surprise and grace God has brought to me in the midst of the pain and loss. And one of my deepest prayers is to live and hold life more lightly (my star word this year!). To cherish the goodness that is here right now. To allow greater sacred space for the Spirit to move and let my life (and very self) become what God desires, even as it’s often different than what I’d planned. I will say that I never, ever, would have predicted I’d be opening an Etsy shop. But I’ve turned to view it all as an experiment and an opportunity for more ministry. It’s been an exercise in following little arrows and next steps, even when I don’t feel ready or that I know enough or that things are what I want them to be. It’s all just an offering and an opening for God to move.
I cannot thank you enough, friends, for all the support you have offered me in this journey. Community is everything. It was the encouragement I received from others that first nudged me into writing a book, and now sharing art. The trusted voices of loved ones can help us see what we can’t or are maybe too afraid to see on our own. So thank you. My prayers and love are with you as you embrace the unfolding and ripening of your own life, and trust God’s Spirit amid the surprises.
A Prayer
I’ve shared this prayer before, but it fits so perfectly with not only the turning of the earth and preparations for Easter, but this theme of what God is unfolding and ripening in our lives. Here in Chicagoland, we aren’t quite to that level of blooming yet outside, but we’re close. Here is a prayer for springtime, from my book, Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life, Second Edition.
For Springtime
Loving, Creator God,
Spring reminds me it’s
never too late to start over.
That there’s been quiet growth
over these long months
of winter when I saw nothing.
When I was called to believe
there was growth happening
beneath hard, cold soil.
And now? Glory!
I celebrate the loveliness
of all you’ve made.
The newness, Lord,
the freshness—
it inspires my soul!
Tulips in the front yard,
buds on the trees,
the voices of birds,
the cleansing of rain,
the comfort of sunshine…
Each gift renews me,
speaking of the promise within
all those months of dormancy
and preparation.
As spring awakens my physical senses,
I ask, God, for you to awaken my inner senses.
May my mind open and blossom
to the longings you’ve placed within me...
to the steps and path that will
satisfy the desires of my heart...
to the hopes and passions
you’ve planted in every
one of your children…
May I seek what will truly fulfill them.
May I journey toward their Source.
May I be guided by your gentle and wise Spirit.
It is never too late to be
what you call me to be.
Even as it takes greatest courage
and deepest humility.
With your help, I will open myself to
what I never expected before,
never experienced before,
and never thought possible.
Amen.
Psalm 16:11 * Psalm 104:24–30 * Isaiah 55:8–9
“You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy…”
—Psalm 16:11a
Something that nourished me recently…
We celebrated my birthday early over the weekend and it was the most meaningful, memorable birthday celebration I have ever had. It will nourish me the rest of my life.
Ash and Starlight, plus other good things…
*PREVIEW OF ETSY SHOP - I’ll be sending a separate post tomorrow with the link for the Etsy shop (sorry for two emails in one week!! This should be the only time) as I didn’t want today’s to get too long. As I have prayed over this process, I felt any selling of my art needs to have a missional component, which is why a portion of any proceeds from this Etsy site will go to The Hunger Project (I’ll explain that more tomorrow too). As a celebration of this soft start, I am going to have a limited edition of a “Strong Women” print, perfect for mother’s day, alongside a few other print options, digital downloads, as well as originals. Stay tuned tomorrow, and again, friends, thank you so much for your support.
*GIFT FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS — As my birthday gift to you and in celebration of the Spirit’s ripening work with the art, I will be sending a 5x7 high quality digital download to all paid subscribers of Monday Manna this week and an additional 8x10 download to founding members.
*SECOND EDITION OF ASH AND STARLIGHT ~ Find the updated edition of my book here at Chalice or at the Amazon link! Also, I am happy to mail personalized bookplate stickers to you. :)
*MONDAY MANNA ARCHIVES ~ You can view previous Substack Monday Manna reflections as a paid subscriber here, or for the really old stuff, go to my website.
*WHAT DOES MANNA MEAN? ~ Check out an earlier post to learn how this little bit of “daily bread” got its name…
*VIA CRUCIS PROCESSION~ If you are in the Chicago area, I encourage you to consider attending the Via Crucis procession, a re-enactment of the fourteen stations of the cross held in the predominantly Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood. I won’t be able to attend, but know many who are and can connect you if you’re interested. The procession, which has been happening for 48 years, feels especially powerful this year when so many Latiné communities are threatened by federal violence. Via Crucis’ message of unconditional love and solidarity is more important than ever. You can learn more here.
*WATERCOLOR FEAST ~ More on the theme of creativity and art-making, the amazing Erin Gleeson is coming out with her newest book tomorrow called The Watercolor Feast: Learn to Paint Simple Fruits, Vegetables & Edible Flowers. It’s not too late to pre-order today!! It comes out on my birthday and so I ordered one as a birthday present to myself!
Praying peace and trust over your hearts, friends, as we wait for resurrection together, and also embrace God’s slow ripening work in our lives. Something God alone can see….
Love and Light,
Arianne
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I love the celebrations, new chapter, and the new Etsy shop!
I forwarded to friends. You speak from the heart. Thank you and blessings 💕