The Mystery of Life

This is a picture I took of a home along the bay in Prospect Harbor, Maine.  The house is shrouded in the morning fog, giving it a ghostly or mystic appearance.  When I look at this picture, I’m wondering what is there that I can’t fully see.  It invites me to unravel its mysteries.  I’m reminded that God’s ways are often unclear to us as well.  The apostle Paul said that now we see as through a dark glass.  It’s true, there are a lot of things about God and about life we don’t fully understand.  For example; if God is good, and God is in control (sovereign) of our world, why all the pain and suffering?  Human nature being what it is we don’t always appreciate mystery and things we can’t completely comprehend or explain.  We want to know the answers to life’s complex and conflicting questions.  The older I get, the more I admire the mystery of life and of God.  For life and God are not merely problems to be figured out, but an invitation to live, and to be enveloped in the ongoing revelation of God’s love for us and our world.        

Backyard Beauty

In our travels to the East coast this fall we saw a lot of beautiful scenery.  We were privileged to see everything from waterfalls, to covered bridges, lighthouses, sandy beaches, the fall colors, and so much more.  However, you don’t have to travel hundreds of miles to witness the beauty and grandure of God’s creation.  We are surrounded by nature’s beauty and bounty.  Sometimes it’s easy to take for granted that which is in our own backyard.  But it’s there for us to see and appreciate, if we will only open our eyes, and our hearts to all that God has placed around us.  I’m not just thinking about the beauty of creation. I also have in view the beauty, and blessings of family, friends and those we bump shoulders with on this journey called life!      

The Road Home

After five and a half weeks of being away, it’s good to be home.  For me, home is more than just a house and an address where I live.  Home is where I am known, accepted, and loved, despite my many shortcomings.  Home is a safe place.  Home is where you are among family and friends, those who care about you, and those whom you care about deeply. Ah, it’s good to be home!  The sad reality of life is there are those who have no sense of home, no safe place where they know they are loved and accepted.  Maybe that’s why Jesus wanted us to know that God desires to make our hearts God’s home.  Jesus wanted us to know that God loves us.  God accepts us.  God forgives us.  God is safe.  We can be at home with God.   

Swords into Plowshares

A visit to the battlefield at Gettysburg, PA, is a sobering reminder of at least a couple of things.  There are some things worth fighting for, and yes dying for.  A couple of those things would be the end of tyranny, slavery of any kind, and the end of all wars.  Isn’t that ironic, fighting for the end of armed conflict?  I think that humanity has the right, and the hope to look forward to the day when the prophet declared that the instruments of war, hate, and violence would be turned into instruments of peace.The transformation of swords into plowshares is the promise of a productive society that is providing for the needs of all.   

Rainy Days

When I was a teenager in the early 70s, the Carpenters came out with a hit song entitled; “Rainy Days and Mondays”.  Part of the lyrics to the song are; “rainy days and Mondays, always get me down”.  I’ve been thinking about that song because, for the last two days we have been in Washington D.C. visiting and touring the city, it’s been cloudy and rainy…thank God for umbrellas.  The above picture is a photo I took from the high hill on which the Arlington house sets in Arlington National Cemetery.  From this vantage point you have a spectacular view of the city.  In the photo, the Lincoln Memorial is on the far left. The Washington Moment is almost in the center.  Just to the right of it can be seen the Capitol building.  The Jefferson Memorial is to the far right in the picture.  However; what really makes this picture meaningful to me, is that in the foreground at the bottom of the hill you can see some of the grave stones of the brave men and women who gave their lives for their country and for the sake of freedom.  Rainy days of all kinds can indeed dampen our spirits, but when we think about the courage and sacrifice that so many have made and are making, it can’t help but  inspire us as well.  Maybe that’s why at the heart of the Christian faith is a service of remembrance….do this in remembrance of me.         

Which Path Will We Take

This is a photo of a path leading to the beach at Provincetown, MA.  If you take this path you will not only go to the beach on a beautiful sunshiny day in the middle of October, but you will also be able to see the Race Point Lighthouse, (aren’t I a tease-I thought you might be getting tired of seeing lighthouses) which is at the farthest point of the finger of Cape Cod.  In life, there are many different paths that we can take.  Some paths lead to dead ends, or worst yet untold tragedy, while others lead to blessings that we could not have imagined.  It’s no wonder that the Psalmist plea was that God would lead him in the way everlasting.        

Life Is Like A Gristmill

This is a photo of a working gristmill near Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, in Sudbury, MA.  Longfellow made the Inn famous when he wrote; “Tales of a Wayside Inn”.  It seems that after the death of his wife, Longfellow was depressed and battling writer’s block.  He thought that maybe an extended visit to the Wayside Inn would give him the jolt of inspiration he needed to reengage life, and boost his writing career.  He was right.  The gristmill takes the raw wheat and grinds it into flour so it can be used in making bread.  Have you ever heard the expression; “I feel like I’ve been run through a mill”? I’m sure Longfellow must have felt something like that after the death of his wife, and yet out of that trying time in his life came one of his best works.  I think that the grist of what God is doing in our lives is grinding away the shaft, you know the stuff that we thought was so important, but isn’t, and the pride that keeps us from loving one another.  God does this so that we might be blessed, but more importantly so that we might be a blessing to others.  So that our lives might be like living bread, offering nourishment, and comfort to fellow travelers on the road of life.  What better comfort food then a slice (or two) of fresh homemade bread right out of the oven!