Annual events

today I visited the dermatologist ... something I have done for the last several Septembers.  It is not necessarily something I look forward to, but it is necessarily something I need to do.  There are other things that we do only once a year - some of them under duress and others reluctantly, rather having the opportunity to do them more frequently.  Paying taxes or home insurance once a year is enough, but I could do Christmas or Thanksgiving more often.  On the other hand, Easter is only once a year, but it seems that when it has past I spend the remainder of the year planning toward, living toward, and looking forward to the next one.  But then in many ways ... Easter comes every day.  We simply don't always acknowledge it.  Looking back it has been almost a year to the day since I made a contribution to this spot.  So, I'm back again - anticipating that it will not be a  year before I return.  My writings stimulate my own thinking call me to be introspective and if someone else gains some insight or hope into this life in the process, then perhaps that is good.

My thoughts lately have been drawn back to Isaiah 35 again and again ... perhaps I'll go there again someday.

Perhaps tomorrow.

I can't wait 'til next year...

Walking in the rain ...

Several years ago I determined that Psalm 23 is approximately nine rods long.  A rod being the length of a standard canoe, portages are measured in rods.  As I walked between two lakes on what are usually sloppy wet and steep trails, carrying a canoe and/or a pack I discovered that as I quoted Psalm 23 outloud that it gave me a mantra ... a rhythm ... that broke through the silence and the monotony.  I began to measure the length of portages in the numbers of times I could quote the Psalm while walking the portage.  The waterfall in the photo above is one of the most beautiful portages I've been on and measures only five "Psalm 23's".  Perhaps it might be useful to measure the transitions of our lives in terms of the psalms.  I've been impressed with Lynn Anderson, who in the midst of his successful chemotherapy, memorized the Psalms ... all of them.  I think he has achieved this goal.

Tonight I went for a walk in the rain.  It reminded me of the many times I've canoed or hiked in the rain ... this just enough to cool the evening and not actually get wet.  But I think that the great advantage of walking in the rain is the fact that it hides the tears of compassion for a broken world.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters,
He restores my soul,
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake ..."

Sometimes the paths of righteousness are pretty rough ...

Occasionally it comes to mind that if one spends too much time reading the thoughts of others, it becomes far to easy to become dependent on the thoughts of others and not take the time to examine oneself.  However, it also seems relevant to examine my own thoughts in the light and context of others.  If one does not take the opportunity to be introspective from time to time, it often becomes increasingly difficult to see clearly beyond today or the ripples in my own pond.  I have just finished reading North to the Night by Alvah Simon ... an autobiographical journal of reflections on sailing north west of Greenland in early September and intentionally becoming embedded in the arctic ice and in the endless dark of the arctic winter... a most desolate visit with wilderness in its most harsh reality.  The author reflects that his greatest battle was with loneliness and with darkness ... both of which are an absence of the stimulation of life.  Without the presence of light and of the interaction of other people, we lose sight of our perspective.  I'm reminded of the Moody Blues tune, Nights in White Satin.

Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colours from our sight
Red is gray and Yellow white
But we decide which is right 
And which is an Illusion                         ... and if we are deprived of the light, our evaluation of truth is necessarily biased and may not be recognized for what it is.  Wilderness has its purpose ... that time spent in wilderness intentionally places one in a situation that requires greater dependence on self ...

The longer the experience, the less dependent upon self and the greater dependence upon GOD - for even the most fundamental needs ... and definition of perspective.

Pikopiko

At the beginning of this new year, I am reminded of the Maori tradition of the 'fertility' and energy represented by the fiddlehead of a newly developing fern frond - ie.  the "fiddlehead".  The entire plant develops from this tightly packaged mass of tissue that will unfurl to become a twenty foot tall ponga fern frond!  This photo is of a Pikopiko that is about the size of a dinner plate.  There is anticipation and prophecy in the symmetry of this frond.  As in the beginning of this new year, it is difficult to see what will develop, but I am excited and encouraged at the possibilities of what will unroll as the days progress.  Again, I'm blessed to witness the magic of natural order and the beauty in the geometry of life.  Thank you Father.

1st of January

"I want to be...do...become in 2013. To be fully there in love for others. To do things I have not done. To become a man of deeper faith and joy. There is only death to quitting or being the same. I want to reach beyond what there is and grasp what could be. The memories I participate in making for my kids, wife, friends and family this coming year only come around once...Father, fill me with the Spirit of resurrection this coming year! "

I hate to start this year with plagiarism, so I must give credit to my friend Reg Cox who penned these words.  However, they could have just as easily come from my lips ... I sat down to write a brief prayer to begin this year and as I opened my computer, found these words from Reg.  I claim this prayer for myself as well.

Having just finished watching the Trilogy of the Rings, I am reminded of how "precious" those things of this world often seem and that we often cannot see the forest for the trees!  What a magical world we live in ... and in the midst of the chaos, violence, and grief of this world ... I am reminded that I am a tree in a story about a forest.  And the story of the forest is more important than the story of the tree.

2013

As I awoke at 4:00 AM with the burdens of several families on my heart, I was refreshed by the promise of rain in a flash of lightning and the subsequent roll of thunder.  Eventually I dropped off ... back to sleep ... and overslept about thirty minutes, arising to the sound of the rain.   The thought occurred that it is the steady and consistent rain that will restore my drought stricken lawn and bring back life to those shrubs and vines that have been struggling.   And yes, it is the steady and consistent reign of our Lord Jesus that will restore our lives that often become dried up, brittle, and broken in the absence of His reign.  Bring it!

 I had to think as I got up this morning that the Monday after Easter must have been a pretty special day as well.  Knowing that Jesus has been raised from death and is walking among us ... changes the perspective of the world we live in and our purpose in being here.  I suspect one would walk along the road or through the marketplace, anxiously searching the faces of the crowd to catch a glimpse of the Savior; to see his eyes one more time or to recognize his smile or his distinct voice.  I pray that your Monday after Easter is filled with the same anticipation.