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blogging101, Creative Writing, Faith and Writing, Journaling, Memories & Reflections, Our Lady of the Mountains Retreat House, Writing 101, Writing Prompts
Moments
One day in New York I was in a bad mood while crossing a small park. It was raining. Suddenly I looked up. In wonder I saw, silhouetted against a gray sky, a tree with long, slender black pods that looked like calligraphic writing.
Think of small moments in your life that had energy — that made you feel alive. Make a list of [at least five], Set your timer for [10] minutes, choose one, and go.
— from The Playful way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen
* * * * *
It was hard to come up with small things like Allen referred to in her example. I know there have been many of them, but my memory isn’t trained to remember them when they happen. These are the best I could come up with:
1. A strange light shining on the mountain at the retreat house late one night.
2. Our 43rd anniversary dinner at Olive Garden.
3. Hearing our son Bran sing his senior project in high school.
4. Watching Lord Drollery and both of our kiddos pose together when they all three graduated from Weber State at the same time.
5. Having someone write a poem about me.
* * * * *
It was late, around 10:30. The committee and I had just finished decorating the sanctuary for the morning’s worship service in the little chapel at the retreat house. I finished gathering up unused decorations and was carrying them out to the car. Unlocking the heavy wooden door I stepped out onto the porch and what I saw knocked the stuffin’s out of me. The whole side of the mountain was lit up like a spotlight was shining on it. It took my breath away. I looked everywhere, but could see nothing that would light the mountain up like that. Couldn’t even see the moon, so I knew it wasn’t natural.
Thinking I was just tired and imagining it, I went back inside and found Claire still in the chapel. It was during compline when we were not supposed to talk, so I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the entry way and outside the front door. She was as amazed as I was.
We walked a ways up the grounds to see if we could see any spotlights from town that might be resting on Mt. Ogden, but we couldn’t see a thing. The side of that mountain was bright as day in a clear, pure white light. We stood watching for ten minutes or so, but nothing changed. Finally we put the stuff in my trunk and went back inside to settle in for the night.
I’ve never forgotten that unexpected vision. It almost felt like a smile. I was glad Claire and I had had the moment together. We had worked together on the retreat for ten years, and I think we both felt like God was saying “Well done!”
I scoured the papers the next two days to find an answer to the mystery, but there was nothing. To this day we don’t know where that light came from or how it managed to light up just the part of the hillside above the retreat house. It remains a beautiful little miracle that Claire and I will always share.
Fimnora Westcaw said:
That’s cool! Those are the times when I love the unknown. It will be interesting to do my own post of such times, IF I can remember any. 🙂
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calensariel said:
Oh yes! Please do share!!! Knowing you, you have a ton of them stocked up! 😀
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Fimnora Westcaw said:
I’ll try after tomorrow’s dentist appt, 🙂
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calensariel said:
Yeah, good luck with that. Praying that they’re able to finish it all up tomorrow so you can be done with it. {{{Fim}}}
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Fimnora Westcaw said:
Not finished yet 😦
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calensariel said:
So sorry, Fim… 😦
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ekpreston said:
Some things are more beautiful as mysteries than they would be if they were completely understood by the observer. That’s a neat story, and perhaps the other four ideas deserve posts of their own someday. 🙂 By the way, how did your boys’ fly fishing experience go?
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calensariel said:
You’re so right, about the mysteries. That’s one thing I’ve always admired about people who practice an “eastern” mindset as opposed to us “westerners.” Westerners want to know the how and why of everything. Easterners want to know what we’re suppose to learn from things. Does that make sense? The guys didn’t catch anything this time, though they felt like they got the hang of it pretty well. They finally switched to their other poles and caught 18. But they put them back. We are a catch and release family, unless, of course, they’re damaged too badly. They REALLY enjoyed it. We’ll be going back up a couple times before the summers over. Thanks for asking!
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ekpreston said:
That completely makes sense. I think that you can have a combination of the mindsets too. Perhaps that would entail asking “why” at first, and if you can find no “why,” then accepting the situation and trying to learn from it in some way. I think that’s kind of what you did here.
That’s terrific that you are a catch and release family. Have you tried switching to barbless hooks? They tend to be gentler on the fish than hooks with the barb still on them.
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calensariel said:
Barbless hooks… I will remember to ask Bran about that when he gets home. I didn’t hear them mention them. You know I think they enjoyed the rhythm of the movement as much as the idea of catching any fish.
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ekpreston said:
There is something magical when you get the movement down, have the necessary line speed, and then perfectly lay the line out on the water. I’m glad that they enjoyed the trip. 🙂
For barbless hooks, you can buy them, but you can also just buy regular hooks. Then, you take a needle-nose pliers, stick the barb on the flat part of the pliers, and then squeeze the pliers shut. This should effectively smush the barb so that it’s no longer a problem. Just try not to bend the hook, because bent hooks are likely to let your fish get away.
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calensariel said:
Makes sense. I will pass that along to them. Thanks for the hints. ❤
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ekpreston said:
Sure. 🙂
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Tina, The Bo Bina said:
Some may think it could have been a phenomena similar to the Northern Lights up in the Alaskan region, but I prefer your way of thinking – God was definitely saying Well Done!
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janebasilblog said:
Lovely! Just think of how it must have affected your mood, and the difference it must have made, not only to you, but all who bathed in your light afterwards, and in Claire’s – the positive ripples it must have sent out.
What a beautiful gift.
I
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