CREATIVE PERSONAL PRAYER

Since I was already in a stew, I decided to literally make a stew. Upset by some sort of squabble, I was soon chopping, dicing, sniffing, mixing, simmering, stirring my way back to sanity. Losing myself in the colors, aromas, taste, feel, and the chop-chop of the knife became a kind of sensate prayer that brought me to my senses.

Cooking is often a vehicle of prayer for me. As I sort out flavors, adding leftover vegetables from the refrigerator, I try to blend them into some sort of tasty combination, using what I already have. In a surprising alchemy of attention, my thoughts are led to explore how my life can be better blended into balance and harmony, what belongs and what doesn’t belong, what adds spice, what ingredients bring a balance of flavors. The kitchen becomes my place of creative personal prayer. 

-- Linda Douty in Praying in the Messiness of Life: 7 Ways to Renew Your Relationship with God, © 2011 by Linda Douty. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books

 

 

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