I have been playing with a new artistic medium: alcohol inks. As I drop colors onto nonporous surfaces, I am fascinated to watch them mix. There is a deep richness in each color that reminds me of several scriptural references. One of my favorite colors is green.
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery tells us that the color green “connotes security, sustenance and beauty.” Green is also the color of summer, which is now so prevalent in the landscape.
Encounter: Feast on God’s Presence
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psalm 23:1-2
Settle Yourself and Release
Find a quiet place outside. Sit in the grass. Take a few deep, slow breaths. Focus on the green that is around you. Examine the blades of grass. Notice that the psalmist says the Shepherd will make him “lie down in green pastures.” Now, lie down and rest.
Pray
Lord, thank You for the colors in your universe. Make me mindful and aware of each and every one. Many times I live my life through a lens of only black and white. Please give me eyes like Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), who wrote:
O MOST NOBLE GREENNESS, rooted in the sun, shining forth in streaming splendor upon the wheel of Earth. You are encircled by the very arms of Divine mysteries. You are radiant like the red of dawn! You glow like the incandescence of the sun!
Amen.
Enjoy a moment of fun!