800+

That is the number of photos I have that haven’t been edited from the period leading up to our vacation and the vacation itself.

3 miles.

That’s how far I walked yesterday evening on a snowy bike trail by the Mohawk River, listening to contemplative music and hoping for answers.

2 weeks.

That’s how long we were in Tobago, having a time that was truly transcendent.

1 simple command.

That’s what I heard from God yesterday. The words provided me with my intention for Lent.

Zero.

That’s the number of words I have ready to publish about our trip.

The trip feels like a fantastic dream. The longer I wait to document it, the more it fades from memory. I glance back at the magic, then turn forward to Lent, a period of repentance and waiting.

Life feels like the bare branches of the landscape, occasionally catching the sunlight in a way that shows the ugliness to be beautiful. Summer is a quiet, hopeful memory.

Here’s my Pandora playlist for Lent. My intention is to let women speak wisdom into my life during this wait for Easter. The above photo is one I took on my walk. And appropriately, I realized after I clicked publish that this “numbers edition” is the 200th post on the blog.