This Grotto

Today's my birthday. I'm on vacation.
I knelt in a new church, new to me, St. Camillus in Arlington, and prayed.
I thanked God for my birthday, another birthday, another year, and then asked for God to make this year a big one for me. I heard myself ask God to make me a grotto.
Just yesterday, I had been reading Rachel Held Evans' Searching For Sunday, and had read the chapter where she visits a grotto, and I thought... I should make a grotto in the yard.
I'm not even Italian! Aren't grottoes an Italian thing? When I told Scott about my idea, he said "like, a bathtub?"
No.
I told him that I'd prayed that, and that I wasn't totally sure what it even meant. I told him my idea of making one in the yard, and that we could use some of the extra rocks lying around, and fresca cans. He said "oh no, we're going to be THOSE neighbors."
But over brunch (brunch! I never get to brunch, but I'm on vacation) I said "well, a grotto is basically just a display case, right? Scott reminded me that they're usually built from whatever materials are around. I remembered that grottoes focus a person's eyes on what's at the center.
I guess a birthday is a good chance to start something new, like a grotto, or a blog.
I had a blog, a while back, which only a few friends knew about. One evening at dinner, one friend who did know, mentioned it- and the other, who didn't, said "you have a blog?" and I said "It's a secret!"
But, I think I'm about to start a period of my life with less secrets. I think God is calling me to open up my story, to build, whatever this means, this grotto.

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