New Discoveries

I really enjoy National Geographic.  I especially revel in the experience of being transported into another place and time, seeing vistas through pictures and words along with discovering animals in ways I never thought possible.  After today I will enjoy National Geographic for completely a different reason.  National Geographic will always remind me of the day I discovered that knowing the real thing is even better than anything I imagined.
 
I have seen photos and video clips of elephants protecting their young.  I can vaguely remember the words describing one author’s experience.  Everything that I thought I knew drifts into a mist as I reflect on the fear in my through this afternoon as an elephant protecting her young took a few menacing steps towards our Land Cruiser.  In that instant I calculated just how far we were from anything resembling safety.  In that moment I wondered how many people I had left with unfinished conversations.  In that instant I wondered about a lot of things.
 
Something in that moment caused me to rethink what I was experiencing.  Within the day we had seen giraffe, wart hogs, zebras, foxes, jackals, impalas, gazelles, and more.  One might argue that we could get closer through a video but one would miss the point.  This isn’t something captured on film, this is life!  It was as real, risky, and unpredictable as it gets; everything on the table and anything could happen.  I wonder in the darkness of the Serengeti just how long I am going to play at this thing I call God.  Is it in my imagination or is it truly my heart and passion?
 
“Here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven.  Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever.”  (John 6.50)
 
The day is dawning; full, bright, and full of hope.  We are off in search of cats; who knows what we will find.  This quest is a temporary one, the invitation to you and me is open to join in a quest with God to discover grace, compassion, and mercy for all.