A young friend made me this friendship bracelet. I feel Seen and Known.

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I am in this photo.

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Today’s image is a photo of a little print from a card we received yesterday from our friend Sherry. The artwork is a print made by or mutual friend Marie Snavely, whom we list this autumn. Marie was an artist with a deep spiritual connection to natural beauty.

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Even on the day when I freaked out a little about the day’s word, I still had a brief idea of what I was going for in the photo I took. Thor is a Worthy Cat, after all.

I like today’s word, Mercy, but I’m less sure of the intuitive connection between word and image today than I’ve been all month. Still, there’s something in the frost-rimed leaf that suggests some possibilities for me, though I can’t put words to it.

You should go Google Mary Gauthier’s “Mercy Now” and listen to that.

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I didn’t think, when I was taking yesterday’s pic of my worthy cat, that I would be returning to the same scene for today’s word, but REPAIR is the word, and this chair has been repaired, but now needs to find its way to the dump, as soon as we find its replacement.

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Today’s word is actually a trigger word for me. The word is Worthy, and it has associations for me with Evangelical culture, in which it feels like it’s always asking if you’re good enough. I know the actual meaning is “Yes, you are good enough!” Still, it feels like it’s constantly begging that question, and I didn’t realize until I encountered it in this Advent calendar that it holds a piece of odd religious trauma for me. So here’s a cute picture of my cat Thor today.

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Today’s picture needs a little context. In October, I was walking in Lancaster just after the City had taken down its summer hanging baskets. I scooped up a few of these viny purple things and put them in water when I got home. Two months later, they’ve put forth this absolute root of fresh green. But then have not put down any roots. The water is enough. For now.

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