My weekend hasn’t turned out exactly the way I planned.
The original intent? My Kairos teammates and I were supposed to be wrapping up Menard #16 today. But the Mighty Mississippi weighed in…with what the National Weather Service deemed ‘moderate’ spring flooding.
…anybody got a boat?
‘Immoderate’ is more like it: By mid-week, the creeping tide had turned the prison into an inaccessible isthmus.
There’s a way-in for staff, we’re told; but Kairos volunteers (and other visitors) will have to wait a bit for the Lord to:
‘…[open] a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters.’
A slight detour in our plans for Menard #16.
So I found myself with some time on my hands Saturday afternoon. A chance, for instance, to take up the rake and start cleaning out the winter debris from the landscaping bed by the front door of our house.
It’s a modest patch – measuring 11’ X 12’, and home to three healthy shrubs, one scrawny one, plus some hardy groundcover. Given its humble stature, I was surprised to discover just how many dead leaves had collected there.
…we shall come rejoicing…bringing in the sheaves [of leaves]…
A bit more work than I was anticipating, sure. But in the end, I was glad to have gathered up the yard waste…because of the tender spring beauty, once hidden, that my efforts revealed.
This is not unlike the promise of Lent, I decided.
The great prophet Isaiah paints the picture for us. You can almost see him, leaning on a rake, beaming at his unexpected encounter with God’s ever-renewing beauty:
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
…now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
…detouring around the detritus…to make way for new life…
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 
I was just wondering where scribe Schroeder was these days of Lent ! Looks like we are making way for the palms we lay down next week, too. The sheaves of our sins measured stone by stone, as well.
Thanks so much for the encouragement, Mary…and for the reminder of palms and pain and sin, the flip side of Lenten renewal.
Ouch. Just thinking too much ! Welcome the blessings of Spring! All good gifts surround us.
And the composting, the sin and sheathes is so necessary for new life. Like death and resurrection, I meant.
Yes, this is exactly how I took your earlier comments, Mary. Both “old” and “new” are key elements of the Lenten experience. Like rich soil, your words add depth to my original reflection!