Bob offers us this prompt for February:
When God closes one door He opens another. It is up to us to recognize that new door and go through it.
So I’ve been thinking about windows and doors…
The last time I attended a Good Friday service a deacon gave one of the shortest and most profound homilies I had ever heard. The essence of it: maybe, maybe –if we sit still long enough, we might let God catch a moment with us. I don’t recall whether the prelude to this incite was our busyness or our own egotistical searching “in all the wrong places.” I just remember being struck by the vision of God as a butterfly that flits always nearby –but won’t alight till we are still enough.
When Bob offered the prompt “doors close/others open” –I thought about how a moth always moves toward the light. It will throw itself against glass panes trying to get closer, closer. In a reverse way, the moth is another image of God (for me) …unrelenting about basking in OUR light. Because God knows every one of us is light-full. What if God wants only to be with us in the light that IS within each one of us? But first, we must open a window or a door to let God in.
I will admit, my windows have been closed, shades pulled for some time now. I slip in and out one door, occasionally casting a furtive glance for that moth-in-search-of-my-light. More recently, I feel a longing inside to be still and let God approach. Probably because I have a lengthy list of complaints about the state of the world that I’d like to register. And increasingly, because I just want someone to cry with about that list.
Good thing winter doesn’t last.
Maybe I will pry one of those windows open and see what spring brings.
come spring, a waking heart may yawn
malaise be gone!
today in flight
one day, in light
©2025 Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Too often my mind scurries
Todos
Yesterday’s tasks
Today’s list too
Tonight, I shall pause to
soak in the light
Patricia, I love the idea of God as a butterfly. I imagine gossamer wings fluttering nearby. I imagine the sense of peace overcoming us as He gently lands on our outstretched fingers. I imagine His grace flowing through us and leading us down the path chosen for us. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
“God as a butterfly that flits always nearby –but won’t alight till we are still enough.”
Wise words. I love the butterfly picture too.
“Good thing winter doesn’t last.” We will need the rebirth of spring to rekindle hope.
Patricia, I love your musings here about God as a butterfly and as a moth, drawn to us. I’m thinking about that one as I go to bed this evening. My favorite though, is your sweet rhyming poem. Yes, here is to a lightened spring with a waking heart!
Patricia, your thoughts are swirling in my head. God being near us in the shape of a gorgeous butterfly never crossed my mind. He wants us to be still. I can see that and I’ve tried to do so. There is the nagging to do list that keeps tucking at me. I need to sit and be still. Just like you, I love the thought of opening windows or doors to let springtime in. I hope my one word renew helps me easily make the transition. Your photo pairs well with your choice of words. Have a good weekend – stay in the light.