Maumee River District UMC

04/06/2026

Hello Friends - I’m posting a final picture here today and revealing who has been behind the 40+ posts this past Lent. I’m Doug Widdowson - a pastor and Spiritual Director here in the Maumee River District serving the Edon and Melbern congregations.

I’ve been participating in the Lent Photo-a-Day Challenge for several years but this is the first year I’ve shared them on this page. All the images and reflections I’ve shared have been created by me. (I appreciate being trusted with access to the page for this year’s challenge) I hope you found them meaningful. If you would like to see occasional and somewhat longer reflections, you can follow my Spiritual Direction page ….. Listening to Photographs.

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!

04/05/2026

04/04/2026

The words for this years challenge were announced just before Lent started. We have taken quite the journey over these 40+ days (including Sundays). Lent provides a time for intentional reflection and it is easy to fall out of that habit when the season ends. It’s my prayer that we continue to look for and see God’s love and grace in all that we experience - even when it’s not announced and simply emerges in us and around us.

04/03/2026

This squirrel carried their meal up into our Maple tree and posed just long enough for me to snap the photo. Carrying an acorn into a Maple tree doesn’t make for much of a devotion - though it does remind me of the command in Leviticus 19 - “‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.“ (Oak and Maple - yes, I know those are the types of seed referenced in the verse!😎)

The photo actually brought to mind the children’s song that says “O be careful little tongue what you say.” On this day we will hear voices cry out to “crucify” Jesus. We will remember that Jesus carried the cross, felt the nails, and spoke words that carried weight - including “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

04/02/2026

Have you ever wondered how many bushels one (or three) of these large grain bins hold? I certainly have … and I went looking for an answer. According to the website of the pictured facility, they have a storage capacity of 3,335,000 bushels of grain. (The facility, in all honesty, is a bit more than what’s captured in the photo but those three bins comprise the majority of storage.)

To switch gears to the spiritual - If you have ever wondered how much love and care God can hold and offer you … the answer is much more than 3.3 million bushels! In other words, we cannot “out sin” God’s love and grace. As we move into these final days of Lent - a season full of questions, reflections, and searching… know that God loves you and does indeed hold you close.

04/01/2026

Gertrude & Heathcliffe are two seagulls created by comedian Red Skelton. (Yes, I’m old enough to remember Red Skelton.) I imagine these two seagulls having a conversation and one of them has just asked “What are you looking at.” The other seagull, in good Red Skelton form, says: “The water. What did you think I was looking at?”

In these days of “Holy Week” I invite you to keep your focus on Jesus. I pray that you are actively looking for him in the midst of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

03/31/2026

The color had already started to fade on this flower but it was a computer program that ultimately removed the color from this bloom. I found myself comparing this process to our renunciation of sin.

We want to remove sin from our lives - and we are able to make it fade. Ultimately it is Jesus who fully removes our sin. I’m reminded of the transformation of Eustace from a dragon back into a boy. C. S. Lewis writes of this in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: “Then the lion [Aslan] said - but I don't know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ …The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.”

May you too feel the pleasure of having sin removed.

The C.S. Lewis Institute has a more in-depth article about Eustace and Aslan on their website.

https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/reflections-september-2012/

03/30/2026

I am not a morning person! However, sometimes being up early pays off. I was headed out on a chilly, hazy day. The mix of early morning fog, first light, and a distant barn caught my attention. It created a calm, pastoral setting - reminding me of the opening lines of a favorite song. (Jeremy Camp’s version) “In the morning, when I rise … In the morning, when I rise … In the morning, when I rise … Give me Jesus.

How will you seek Jesus in the early days of Holy Week? And for my colleagues in ministry - perhaps the better question is “Will we slow down enough (later in Holy Week) to truly see and experience Jesus?

03/29/2026

03/28/2026

FIRST - I will assure you no one was harmed in this fire.

I’m sure there was turmoil when a bus (in transit and without students on board) caught fire next to a propane storage tank! One minute things were fine and then, faster than you can say “whoosh”, they were not!

Life is like that. It changes from day to day and minute to minute.

One minute the disciples think they see a ghost and the next they discover it’s Jesus walking on the water. One minute Jesus is praying, the next he’s being arrested, and then everyone deserted him and fled. Turmoil.

Reflect back over those times of turmoil in your life. What did it feel like and how did you cope?

03/27/2026

This may appear to be a strange representation of blessed. However, it takes me back to my childhood and the rugs mom had in our kitchen. A memory that reminds me of how “blessed” I was with a warm house, nourishing food, and deep love.

How have you been blessed?

03/26/2026

Some would argue that a railroad track spike (especially a rusted, abandoned one) shows a “humble, poor, or simple position.” That argument fails to account for the important work that it did when it was driven through the tie plate into the railroad tie. Without that spike rails could move and accidents happen. Yes, a spike is not flashy and I it does not command attention like an engine does. Still, this humble spike has an important role in the railroad industry.

You may sometimes feel like a humble person or that your life/ministry is not important. The truth is, and I hope you hear this clearly, you have an important role to play in the kingdom of God. 1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.”

May we indeed live humble lives that play an important part in sharing God’s love and grace.