Visio Divina: Hope

Welcome to today's visio divina. I titled today's image "hope," but I want you to know that may not be what you find. If another word or theme surfaces for you as you pray - go with it! God may be leading you somewhere he has specifically for you today.
To start...

1. Get in a quite place and ask Jesus to open your heart, mind, and eyes to see where he is leading you today. Settle in for 2-3 minutes before you begin.
   
2. Observe the photo below for a few minutes. Notice what stands out to you. See the colors, textures, patterns, rhythms.
3. Now spend about 10-minutes with the image while you ask yourself and Jesus: what meaning does this image hold for me? Notice what comes up. It may be a relationship you're in, a situation you're apart of, or a feeling. Jesus may be leading you to any part of your life or heart, so don't quickly disregard something as "too small" or "irrelevant." This may be a helpful time to journal out what is coming up.
   
4. Respond to Jesus from what he has revealed for the next 5-or so minutes. Express how you feel about what came up (perhaps excited, or scared, or angry).
5. As you conclude, take the last 5-minutes to breathe and exhale deeply. As you exhale relax your shoulders, your neck, your arms and legs. You may also pray with each breath a short prayer, like: "Lord Jesus (inhale), have mercy on me (exhale)."

May you find the mercy and justice of Jesus in your time with him through this image today.

© 2014 Christine Lee Smith. Image may not be used, displayed elsewhere, or distributed without permission.