(Occasionally these posts will be a bit more serious)
Psalm 66
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
In the run up to the BFT, I personally knew I needed time to listen. The process of resigning from my job of 16 years took its own course and soul searching... as one friend put it, this was going to be "a purposeful pause" for me. I liked how he put it, but admittedly, I did not feel purposeful. I felt certain of God's hand in what was going on. I knew He was asking me to let go of some things, control being a big one, but I am not so sure I knew what the next step beyond surrender looked like. As I have said to the numerous friends and wise counsel in my life (too numerous to count - I will name you at the end of the BFT) "I am clear God is asking me to trust in His goodness, to have the kind faith I always talk about, but I am much less convinced that he will provide a specific kind of thing to pursue. He is not going to "zap" me with answers but rather nudge me to lean into a work with him." Admittedly, this has been one of the more interesting/difficult parts of this whole process - that is, knowing God is so good (from experience), but being somewhat convinced that his goodness works itself out slowly, often non-obviously, and requires our participation and decision making without the absolute certainty that each decision by itself is the end of the matter or that God even cares about it.
Whomever said being a Christian was without nuance or for the overly simplistic, really should dwell on the wisdom and history of scripture for a while. Being only 16 years into the process myself, all I can say is that I couldn't imagine a more joyful and difficult life than this - almost like the two cannot (necessarily)be separated. He keeps revealing the pieces as I am ready for them. Thanks God.:)
Anyhow...the real point of this post and echoed by Psalm 66, was to say that the BFT so far has spoken to me most in two places where, in all honesty, I felt most the insignificant. Go figure.
#1 Mount Rushmore - In postcards and posters, the artistry of this place cannot be truly appreciated. Like other great pieces of art, the work and detail is different from every angle you take it in. I didn't expect to be so affected by the place. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln are simply overwhelming - their ideas, vision, leadership, and sacrifice just hang over you with the combined power of placement on the surrounding hills, it is simply humbling.
#2 - Custer State Park -Diverse, lush, sweeping, quiet, alive. Wide open plains, tucked into rocky outcrops. Rock formations covered in pines, winding through one ravine after another. Wildlife everywhere - bison, burros, wild turkey, marmots, 10-point elk...it just goes on. We took what we thought was going to be a 30-minute drive and ultimately turned into one of the best 3 hours of the last 3 years. Torrential rain one moment, quietness, and beautiful sunsets wrapped in clouds that just sat on top of us the next. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had felt the "rightness" of simply being alone with so much beauty.
Psalm 66
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
In the run up to the BFT, I personally knew I needed time to listen. The process of resigning from my job of 16 years took its own course and soul searching... as one friend put it, this was going to be "a purposeful pause" for me. I liked how he put it, but admittedly, I did not feel purposeful. I felt certain of God's hand in what was going on. I knew He was asking me to let go of some things, control being a big one, but I am not so sure I knew what the next step beyond surrender looked like. As I have said to the numerous friends and wise counsel in my life (too numerous to count - I will name you at the end of the BFT) "I am clear God is asking me to trust in His goodness, to have the kind faith I always talk about, but I am much less convinced that he will provide a specific kind of thing to pursue. He is not going to "zap" me with answers but rather nudge me to lean into a work with him." Admittedly, this has been one of the more interesting/difficult parts of this whole process - that is, knowing God is so good (from experience), but being somewhat convinced that his goodness works itself out slowly, often non-obviously, and requires our participation and decision making without the absolute certainty that each decision by itself is the end of the matter or that God even cares about it.
Whomever said being a Christian was without nuance or for the overly simplistic, really should dwell on the wisdom and history of scripture for a while. Being only 16 years into the process myself, all I can say is that I couldn't imagine a more joyful and difficult life than this - almost like the two cannot (necessarily)be separated. He keeps revealing the pieces as I am ready for them. Thanks God.:)
Anyhow...the real point of this post and echoed by Psalm 66, was to say that the BFT so far has spoken to me most in two places where, in all honesty, I felt most the insignificant. Go figure.
#1 Mount Rushmore - In postcards and posters, the artistry of this place cannot be truly appreciated. Like other great pieces of art, the work and detail is different from every angle you take it in. I didn't expect to be so affected by the place. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln are simply overwhelming - their ideas, vision, leadership, and sacrifice just hang over you with the combined power of placement on the surrounding hills, it is simply humbling.
#2 - Custer State Park -Diverse, lush, sweeping, quiet, alive. Wide open plains, tucked into rocky outcrops. Rock formations covered in pines, winding through one ravine after another. Wildlife everywhere - bison, burros, wild turkey, marmots, 10-point elk...it just goes on. We took what we thought was going to be a 30-minute drive and ultimately turned into one of the best 3 hours of the last 3 years. Torrential rain one moment, quietness, and beautiful sunsets wrapped in clouds that just sat on top of us the next. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had felt the "rightness" of simply being alone with so much beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment