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Today, on my way to a weekly doctor’s appointment, I passed a curious sight on the country road by the interstate. It looked like a homeless person. I could not see his face. It was hooded, and the whole apparition was draped in “stuff”–a ragged pink blanket, the black hoodie, layers of clothes and other things, all perched on a bicycle. The form wasn’t moving. In fact it looked like he was standing with the bicycle, peering out at farmland through binoculars. He was still there an hour later when I passed going in the opposite direction.
I’ve spent three decades in urban locations, so I’ve seen lots of homeless people–an old naked woman outside the New York City train station, dozens of folks sleeping in a box city in the tunnels under Philadelphia’s city hall, men on the street sleeping on steam vents and in subway corridors, and even women with babies panhandling by the doors of a local farmers market. But I’ve never seen a homeless person on a country road before.
That rodent in my kitchen may have attracted a predatory fan. Yesterday, when I came out to go to work, an Abyssinian-type cat hopped off my patio bench and bolted across the yard. (See representative photo, above.) Was this God-messenger #2?
It was a beautiful cat–sleek and elegantly regal. When I called out to say hello, it stopped momentarily and looked back-like a monarch, with royal distain.
I didn’t have time to chat, so I went on up the stairs to my car, but I find myself wishing I could have domesticated critters in my house. There’s something really comforting about their presence.
Human beings have strong control impulses. We all take the “control” notion very seriously-at least when it comes to our own fiefdoms. (We’re not quite so diligent with Kingdom stewardship.) But regularly, life thwarts our little schemes and plans. Last night was one of those times.
My house is my kingdom..that’s right…mine! I control who comes and goes (for the most part.) I control what gets cleaned, what gets kept or pitched, and every other event in the house. Or so I think. It’s a small domain but it’s mine to govern. That all ended last night. Last night, the Untenable happened–a brazen little furry intruder illegally crossed the border into my kingdom, ‘er queendom. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a really beautiful late Spring day today…83 degrees and sunny. There’s a cool breeze blowing that makes it feel like September, and everywhere I look, the earth is green, lush, and fertile. Sunset last night was gorgeous–all pink haze and blue streaked skies. This morning I woke up to the wood birds’ morning song. They keep up their choruses until a little before noon. Spring’s an awesome time on my mountain…
I am God, your God…every animal among the trees is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains. And all things that move in the field are Mine. Give a gift of thanks on the altar to God. And pay your promises to the Most High. Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will take you out of trouble, and you will honor Me. He who gives a gift of thanks honors Me. And to him who makes his way right, I will show him the saving power of God. (Psalm 50:7b,10-11,14-15, 23)
Sometimes I wonder how God our Father gets anything done… I mean seriously. When I look around, I see us all promoting our own understandings, our own agendas, and our own interpretations of what He meant by what He said. For the most part, folks seem as if they’re ignoring or discrediting what He really said and doing whatever they want to do. It’s discouraging to watch, and even more discouraging when I find myself participating in the disruption. . .
It all sounds more like cacaphony than a symphony of Kingdom relationships. How will our Father ever transform all our noise and disobedience into the coming of His Kingdom? It’s a lot like the chaos of ordinary everyday family life, huh!
Thank God for His Father’s hand on the reins of our lives…guiding, directing, correcting, nurturing, supporting, and making music from the discord. And thank God for our earthly fathers, who chart our families’ courses and steer, if imperfectly, our lives toward our heavenly home. Read the rest of this entry »
This week brought small blessings: a friend came home for the summer from her Kenyan teaching assignment; an awesome online auto insurance site offered me 6 competitive quotes (the best was Travelers’ with an astounding $105 per month rate for great coverage); I bought 4 bags of mulch for the weed-plagued garden, and am dragging them, one 2-cubic-ft bag at a time, down the 22 steps to the garden; and I even managed to do the laundry, clean the house, mop the floor, and put last Fall’s compost into the now almost-weed-free garden before spreading all that mulch!
All these chores may seem routine to other folks, but for me, they’re major challenges. His mercies have abundantly blessed my labors this week…
Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace. (Luke 1:78-79, Message Bible)
