Frozen waves

A prayer hidden and silent

Stones submerged by winter’s blanket
Covered and cold beneath the grip of frost

If they could but speak of the wishes, the hopes,
Desires and fears uttered here
Frozen in the gossamer of time

Wishes written on the footfalls and on the breezes
Of another moment, another season
Hearts open in the stillness of the walking
The mix of stones and soil, moss and grass under foot

Reverent periods of reflection
Between man and God
Cries heard in the silence beyond the field
Through the frozen prayers
In the ground.

By R.Foss

Have you ever felt like you have been praying but God hasn’t been hearing your prayer? Or maybe you have been working hard to grow in virtue but see no change in your life despite your best efforts? Maybe you’ve felt like you just don’t know how to pray anymore, although you continue to set aside time to be with Him...
Let’s put a pot of ice water on the stove and turn on the heat. We will watch the temperature on a thermometer to measure the change in water temperature as the pot sits on the heat, and we won’t look inside that pot. Now, if we watch that thermometer for a while, we will begin to think that nothing is happening. Heat is being applied to the water, but the water isn't feeling warmer.

Suddenly there is a rise in temperature! How can the water go from cold to hot so quickly? Well, the water temperature doesn't rise - it doesn’t change - until all the ice is melted. It seems as though nothing is happening, but something is happening - the heat energy is melting the ice rather than raising the water temperature. Only when all the ice is melted is the heat energy finally able to warm up the water temperature.

Doesn't this make you think of the spiritual life? We may feel as though we work and work to grow in virtue but with no results. Sometimes in our prayer we may feel that we are stuck, that we have stopped moving closer to God. Where is He? Why can’t we reach Him? He may seem very far away. Well, God is often working in the secret of our hearts. Sometimes there are hard, icy parts of us that need to melt before the heat of God’s love can continue to transform other aspects of our lives. We can’t always see those bits and pieces of ice hidden often so deep within our souls, and thankfully God usually reveals them to us just a little at a time so as not to overwhelm us. But if we pray, if we partake of the sacrament, then we are applying heat – the heat of God’s love and mercy. Change is taking place, we must just continue to trust and to love.














Photos taken 11.02.12 in Jägala juga and Valkla beach.
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