Protection during unexpected times

One of my favourite icons of the Theotokos

is this one,

the Protection of the Mother of God.

I also love St. Phanourios.

In the past two years I have asked his prayers

at various times

and have a service to him in English.

St. Phanourios'

prayers help people find things,

often deep things,

like spiritual fathers, jobs, life direction.

I have asked his protection on many occasions

and for his provision.

This past September I asked his help

for a request very dear and close to my heart.

So close that for months afterwards

I could not blog about it at all.

Well,

at the eve of Great Lent, it is time to share

what I have been given.

It was completely unexpected

and is flipping my life utterly upside down.

Soon I will change my living room
icon corner icons
for lent.
The Mother of God will stay in the centre
and Christ the Bridegroom
and
St. Ephraim the Syrian
will flank her on each side.
Waiting for the time when I change these icons for
my Paschal icons of
Christ's Resurrection
and the icon of
the Theotokos Life Giving Spring.

What I have to tell you now is so big
in my small life
the life of one
Orthodox woman who is also
a librarian
with the Cutest Cat in Canada
that I have started a new blog
for this new beginning.

I don't plan on stopping my blog here
but needed a different blog outlet...
right now I don't have the comments on for this
new blog
as I am still in the
processing-needing-some-silence-stage
but it is finally time to share it with you.
Wonderful and totally
unexpected.