Shalom
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Stepping Deeper Into Mystery
I spent sometime yesterday away from civilization after going through a stress-filled day. Yes, I escaped once again to my refuge Sandilands Provincial Park. It's a relatively short 20 minute drive from home and I'm in rolling hills treed with both poplars and pine. This time of year, it still unfortunately is covered in snow and so it makes walking through the woods somewhat difficult. However, the ski trials (although in serious disrepair with the recent warm weather) allow a person to hike alongside in only boot deep snow instead of knee deep or worse.
And so I walked until I found a bit of clearing between a poplar stand and a grove of pine. There I stamped out a bit of a rest area and allowed my thermarest to inflate. Then I sat down, brought out my journal and stared into the warm sun still just above the tree line. It was surprisingly warm despite the minus celcius temperatures. I took a number of pictures and just reflected on my life, direction, God, future, you know the deep stuff. And it was good. I suppose I've been a bit frustrated and restless as of late and I needed just to get away from it all. We forget to breathe sometimes in the chaos of life. We forget that we need to rest and be silent. While looking up I noticed that I was sitting next to a poplar tree that was surrounded by towering pines in the form of a circle - here's a purposely blurred & slightly over-exposed shot of that place.
A particular Psalm brought me some solace with the line, "Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids. Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me." Funny how words like that bring comfort but they affirm that I'm not alone in the struggle. Others who have gone before me have faced challenges far worse than my own and survived. Psalm 42 is a powerful lament but still hopeful and looking to God for wisdom and strength. Below is my attempt at an abstract shot of trees. Trees for me represent strength despite hardship - strong roots keep a swaying tree centred.
Shalom
Shalom
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4 comments:
I can really relate to this idea connecting refuge and reflection. Last night after the girls were in bed, I cycled around town a bit to clear my head, and eventually found myself part way up my usual mountain refuge, high enough to look out over the lake and the lights reflecting from the other side. I parked the bike and just sat there in the dark for a while in the grass, looking out over the town, listening to the owl hooting nearby and thinking.
Cool scene as well Jer. Silence, a place away from it all, the great outdoors is a great place to find refuge and ultimately reflection. I find rest as I am sure you do just riding my bike or paddling a canoe or kayak. There is something about the rhythm, the revolutions of a wheel, that somehow allow a person to focus on breathing, on living, on life. I added a few pictures from my moment of refuge.
Funny, last night I went for a long walk, first one in a while. Same thing, needed some time away from stress, to think, to pray, to talk. Went down by the lake, listened to the waves breaking on the rocks (couldn't quite see them, cloudy dark night, just enough light to see where I was going). We all need times to be somewhere to clean house, internally. One thing I learning while in Saskatchewan (that hole between Manitoba and Alberta), was to appreciate wind. There's lots of that in Saskatchewan, and you stand there, lean into it, and it almost blows right through you. Cleans house.
Okay Dave - I laughed at your Saskatchewan comment and I know what you mean. I have to say I really miss the aimless walks I used to take in the bush at Red Rock. I actually tried to get a lost a few times but never really could, I still know the lay of the land there so well.
Water whether it is frozen, still, or moving is always a great place for reflection. Surfing a wave, climbing a frozen waterfall, or just sitting in a hot tub - great times to soak it all in!
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