I returned this afternoon after spending two days in a hermitage at Wellsprings Farm. I enjoyed the silence, and the time for prayer and reading, as well as time spent walking the labyrinth and the forest path. A great way to begin Lent!
What a very different experience from my time at the hermitage in November. In contrast with the relatively warm weather then, the temperature the past two days hovered around 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit and the ground was covered with snow (except the parts covered with ice – my friend Teresa joined me at the hermitage for the second night and could not get her car up the icy road). While I may not have walked the labyrinth as slowly as I normally do – or spend any significant time sitting in the center (as I typically do) it was still a wonderfully meditative.
It is walking in the forest I loved most. Part of it is the quiet – nothing but an occasional bird and the sound of the snow crunching under my feat. More so, for me there is always something of majesty in the bare trees. It is hard to capture what I love most about it in a picture; here is the best I could do.
Where will you be finding your quiet time during Lent?
Creo en Dios! 