All Around

Our house in California sits on the cusp of two worlds.  On one hand, we are on the edge of Los Angeles’ classic blanket of smog, often masking itself as a marine layer.  We sit on the eastern edge of the basin, part of the Inland Empire.  As you looks north and west from the house you can see Los Angeles’ presence.  It’s real.  It’s tangible.  You can see it come and you can see it slip away. 
 
On the other hand we just on the western edge of the high desert.  The air tends to be fresh.  The skies are blue.  The view of the sun rushing towards the horizon, and what one assumes is the pacific, can be incredible.  This isn’t the part of Southern California I expected.  I didn’t know my house was going to be at twenty two hundred feet.  I didn’t expect I would escape a big part of the smog.  Crisp mornings, clear moonlit nights, and fresh air were all bonuses.
 
You and I live in a chaotic world.  Everything is pushing, grabbing, and lunging for our attention.  Even if one thinks they know what to expect, one is never quite prepared for what happens.  Life is out of control.  Life is on the edge of our understanding.  Life is, wonderfully,  unexpected.
 
In the midst of all this, I find myself holding onto a reality I often forget.  We are never alone.  “Just as the Master kept you alive during the hard times, he'll keep your teacher alive and present among you.  Your teacher will be right there, local and on the job, urging you on whenever you wander left or right: ‘This is the right road.  Walk down this road.’  You'll scrap your expensive and fashionable god-images.  You'll throw them in the trash as so much garbage, saying, ‘Good riddance!’”  (Isaiah 30.20-22) 
 
Today is a wonderful opportunity to discover God in the world around us.  Divinity shows itself when we least expect God to be present.  Divinity lives and acts through everyone around us.  Be aware.  Be attentive.