The Seed and The Stew
Once upon a time, I had a blog I affectionately titled “Lilley of the Field.” Sharing reflections and pictures of life brought me great joy. But eventually, my writing dwindled. I became a mother, moved cities, and my creativity ebbed. At times I’ve been frustrated that my creative side seemed to be put on the back burner, but recently I’ve come to think that maybe it’s more like a hearty stew left to gently simmer, developing more flavor, depth, and complexity over time. (To be fair, I have had creative endeavors, they’ve just mostly fallen into the categories of projects for the home or kids which can be fun, but just different.)
At the beginning of this year, I took a leap to submit an old poem of mine to a tri-annual print publication by Daughters of Promise called Commonplace, a communal collection of stories, art, and poetry highlighting God’s presence in our everyday lives. I have long treasured their work and was delightfully shocked to be accepted. It was like lifting the lid on the stew to find my senses awoken by a delicious aroma that made my mouth water. Maybe it was time to take a taste. I crafted new pieces to submit along with my photos to their fall and winter issues and was again elated to be accepted. I began to remember why I loved writing, how it stirred a deep part of my soul.
I tend to process my experiences with words, whether verbally or written. It wasn’t that I never wrote, I just rarely wrote for the purpose of sharing with others. Without having any other eyes to read my writing, I just dumped thoughts on a page, which was very cathartic, but I never returned to fine tune or revise my thoughts. I found the challenge of the editing process surprisingly rewarding.
One day, while in the midst of trying to pair down my words to meet the maximum word count criteria for one of my submissions, I heard a verse on a parenting podcast, “The wise measure their words.” (Proverbs 10:19, The Message). The gravity of words, how we say them and how many we say, struck me hard in relation to writing. (And, yes, I also need to cut down on my words in those “chats” with my kids that they seem to forget a little too quickly.)
Writing proved to be much like something else I love- gardening. I’d stand back in the garden of my words I just dumped on the page to observe unwanted weeds, vibrant flowers, and overgrown bushes. Sometimes I had to painfully prune large sections knowing it would help the overall growth of the piece. Other times, I would dig up a sentence and transplant it somewhere else for a perfect fit. Some sentences were lacking, so I’d mull it over, tilling the soil. Then finally, like the pleasant surprise of a summer thunderstorm, inspiration would strike and the right words would bloom.
This waking up of my creative side has led me to wondering time and time again if I should dust off the blog. So here I am- on my knees with a dust rag in hand. I humbly come before you with my words, honored you have chosen to read them. I pray they encourage and inspire you. I have no big plans here. No desire to monetize the blog, start a side business, or amass a following. Nothing other than the desire to have a creative outlet, hone my writing skills, and encourage friends and family.
In the time between my last blog and this one, some things have changed, some have not. One addition since then, has been a nice camera and an online photography class. I have always loved photography, but finally got around to learning how to capture images the way I wanted (Thank you covid shut down). Learning about light through photography has enhanced my understanding of God’s illuminating goodness in a dark world. The parallels between photography and the Christian journey are numerous and I’ve enjoyed meditating on them.
A while ago, I came across the verse “in Your light, we see light.” (Psalm 36:9) and the initial seed of a future, unknown creative endeavor called “Lilley in the Light” was planted. Finally it’s made it’s way here, to this blog. There’s nothing better in life than knowing and being known by God. His forgiveness, love, and mercy is unfathomable. His Spirit is alive, moving in each of our lives if we have eyes to see.
I hope to capture the simple beauty of our world through photography and reflect on God’s presence in our lives through words. May this space encourage you to lift your eyes to see the source of all true joy, Jesus. He was called “Immanuel” meaning “God with us.” My stories are simply that- “God with us” stories. Thanks for coming along for the journey!
