Stepping away from “regular” life takes a bit of an adjustment. In this pilgrimage the process has been accelerated by the fact that my computer has suffered a hard disk crash. Without email, a mobile phone connection, and easy access to voice mails life took on an interesting view. I had nothing to link myself with the past or the future, only the present.
Life took on a surreal pattern of waking as the sun broke over the hill and cast blue and pink shadows on the fingers of fog that had lingered through the night. Alternative days seems to find hazy sun and wind or stillness punctuated with interesting nature battles as the sunlight fought unsuccessfully to discover every square inch of the forest floor beneath the Redwoods.
I the midst of this awe and wonder I could not help changing the way I responded to life. In many ways it was the same as “When you go out to dinner with an influential person, [you] mind your manners: don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself; [you] bridle your appetite.” (Proverbs 23.1, 2)
One cannot help ones’ self; it is better this way.
I find that in the Redwoods I want to listen more than speak.
I discover again that as amazing and incredible as I might think I am that everything humbles as I wonder about the strength shown by a fern and Redwood tree existing in harmony with each other.
I sing and praise God, thinking I have seen it all; only to find God revealing even more awesome love, mercy, and involvement.
As I sit in the shade watching several generations of ducks waddle by I know that everything can be all right. Life will never be easy, for you or me, but it can be a lot more than yesterday. God is at work around us and is willing to be in action on our side. It all starts your “yes” or mine; opening us up to something that gets better with each day.
