Saturday’s Reflection
LYING ON MY BED [recovering from surgery], without much range of motion possible with my neck, I was nonetheless able to watch the iris in the bouquets. Over the period of a week they slowly and graciously unfolded their gifts to me. Each day, a tightly furled bud would begin its slow-motion self-revelation, until by the end of the day it would be in full expansion. Next morning, it would have closed in on itself only to allow the next bud positioned farther down the stalk to display its breathtaking beauty.
The very being of the iris, their incomprehensible delicacy and extravagance, the furry, petaled dip and curve of them, the modulations of color, the various textures of stalk, stem, stamen, and pistil all elegantly displayed themselves for my wonderment. There was a wordlessness to the experience that is impossible to convey. The iris simply were. They were inexpressible gifts. Unique. Unrepeatable. Unforgettable if only I could be present to really see and receive them. I knew I had never seen iris before. I was not sure I had ever really seen anything before. But now I knew. I had seen iris.
- Wendy M. Wright
The Rising: Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost
From The Rising: Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost by Wendy M. Wright. Copyright © 1994 by Wendy M. Wright. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
Give thanks to God for the beauty around you. Share your reflections.
Today’s Scripture Reading
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