Cedar logs crackle in the stone fireplace as their unmistakable scent wafts throughout the cabin. Firelight shadows dance on the ceiling and walls. Human voices speak softly concerning loved ones and matters of mutual concern. Somewhere outside, a pack of coyotes howl at the moon. We step onto the front deck and gaze upward. Millions of stars bespeckle the heavens, bearing silent witness to the Creator's power and presence. From the distance comes the wind's soft whisper, increasing in volume as it crosses the mountain forests of majestic Douglas firs and blue spruce, limber pines and wispy … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2013
WHAT GOD TOLD ME, BESIDE A LAKE IN MAINE
Around me, red, orange and yellow leaves flutter silently to the ground, contributing their variegated tones to the multicolored October carpet. The blue sky and white clouds appear twice this morning, first in the sky and then in the mirror stillness of the lake. I hear a splash. A fish breaks the water's surface to snatch some breakfast morsel. A wild goose circles in majestic observation overhead. From the small island in the center of the lake comes the unmistakable cry of a loon. Behind me up the hill a thin column of smoke rises from the chimney in the borrowed cottage where Sara Faye … [Read more...]
MYSTERY OF THE WIND
We welcomed recent days of steady rain in these west Houston suburbs. Now I welcome this break in the rain for a neighborhood hike. Scattered rain-clouds, flung in a wide sweep across the sky, hide the evening sun on this Texas Gulf Coast. Developers planted our Katy prairie land with trees two and three decades ago, and they now form a trekker's pleasant canopy overhead. Around and below me, the gentle wind rustles through the grass and flowers and trees. Overhead it moves the clouds across the half-darkened sky. I think of Jesus' comparison of God's Spirit to the wind. Both are invisible … [Read more...]
ENCOUNTERING GOD IN THE CATHEDRAL
I can scarcely imagine a cathedral more magnificent, or one more conducive to fellowship with the Maker of heaven and earth. Fiery-red sumacs form a natural vestibule into this holy place. Their branches, thick and low-lying, rightly compel a pilgrim to bow when entering. Inside, white-barked birches and crimson-leafed maples spire upward, directing the mortal gaze heavenward in thanksgiving and adoration. A gentle wind rustles the leaves overhead. The first October frost has come, like some secret Michelangelo to his Sistine Chapel, bequeathing a ceiling which dazzles with a living palette … [Read more...]
ARCHWAY INTO GOD’S FUTURE
A diffused glow spreads across the sky, as if someone is shining a light beyond the horizon and just below it. "Diffused," I say, because this glow is neither direct nor clear. Not a typical sunrise, to be sure. Fog, perhaps, or haze. I am not wearing a watch on this early morning walk, but I judge the time to be about 6:45 a.m. I try to listen to God on these walks, although my brain often has difficulty staying focused. Thoughts flash in rapid succession, thoughts holy and profane, significant and worthless. There must be three persons vying for attention, I think -- God, Satan and … [Read more...]