travel

I really want to go somewhere - anywhere - now that the leaves are falling from the trees, the mornings are frosty and there is snow on the mountain tops. I long for the days of flying but I need to reroute. In the expanse of each new day, I need to let go of the world and its destinations and travel inward.

I don’t need a car, a train or an airplane for the purpose of finding joy. In the stillness of my space, I can reach out to God and I am filled with thanks, love and life. My soul has the sun and I can feel its warmth within me. The surf of my spirit joins the chorus and cadence of the waves as I walk on the sandy shores of my daily life. I continue this inner journey and find peace and healing from my Maker.

I have walked the cobbled streets of Rome, tasted the pomerac fruit of the Caribbean. I have seen palm trees swaying from the Pacific wind and I have tasted the salt on my lips from ocean sprays. I have soared into the clouds and watched the whales breech along the coast, but today I travel to the place untouched by human hands into my soul. The light floods the landscape of my life relfecting rays of sunrises and sunsets.

My longing is a connection to the God of the universe and as I read his Word, I am reminded of ancient places and meet all sorts of travellers. I sing praises and hear the music reverberate through my veins. I pray to Him and am transported to indescribable places of beauty that I see through observant eyes. And so, as I sit at my morning meditation table, my spiritual journey continues as I learn His ways, lean on Him for strength and wait for Him to continue showing me HIs glory. My journey isn’t over. Judges 18:5-6

 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”

feathers

Now and then I will find a feather laying randomly on my back patio or I step over a fluffy white one hidden partially in the grass as I walk around the park. I also see them as earrings hanging from racks in the little gift shop or I see them in a photo used as a quill for some writer who has dipped its end into a jar of ink. Some believe that when they see a feather, it is from the wing of an angel left for us to find and remind us of heavenly deities. Feathers adorn the headdresses of dancers and are displayed in living color on the singing birds of the world from the foilage of the Amazon rainforest to the canaries in metal cages. Even as I look up to the clouds, I see shapes of feathers.

Indigenous elders will tell you that the feather needs to be looked at closely as there is much wisdom to be found. The spine represents your life’s road. Everyone knows that the feather is thicker at one end and thins toward the end. Isn’t this true of our lives? We are strong and hungry for knowledge, but as we grow we lose our innocence and become concerned with other things like a job, relationships and the world around us. Our foundational knowledge is there and with us, becoming more honed as we age.

There are hundreds of filaments that adorn the sides of the spine. This represents the teachings, the lessons and the experiences we accumulate along our journey and gather to become the person we are. An eagle’s feather has particular significance because the eagle’s feathers enable him to fly above and see a long way. As humans, we too can reflect on our lives and see the bigger picture and soar above into a full life of opportunity.

Psalm 91: verses 1-7 make reference to feathers.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

May you find refuge not regret; faith not fear; patience not pestilence and peace not plague. Soar above the problems of today and be safe in the shadow of His wings.

choice

I enjoy reading many of Richard Wagamese’s books. Indigenous authors such as he, have much to say about the world and people’s stories. That’s why I was delighted to see that Drew Hayden Taylor has taken many of Richard’s meditations and non-fiction writings and designed What Comes From Spirit as a literary legacy to honor him and his work. One particular page captured my attention:

ME: What’s the biggest strength Creator gives me?

OLD WOMAN: Choice

ME: That seems kinda small.

OLD WOMAN: It’s your true power. Your biggest power.

ME: Really? How so?

OLD WOMAN: With it you get to direct the course of your life. You can choose to give up. You can choose to hang on. You choose to feel angry. You choose to not listen, to stay tied to your past, to blame, to be prideful, to ignore humility. You choose your ego over your heart, to be a reactor or a creator. But you can also choose to let go, to have dignity, to forgive yourself and others, to see how valuable and beautiful you are, to be vulnerable and share your true self, to not be a victim. You can choose to be happy.

ME: All that is mine.

OLD WOMAN: It always was and always will be - but you have to choose to use it.

In these interesting days, some people are having choices made for them; while others are making difficult choices. Our governments have chosen to go deeply into debt; our politicians have chosen to be involved in science and people are choosing to demonstrate their feelings in both negative and positive manners toward one another. We, as humans, have always been able to choose. God gave us that ability when he created us.

We can choose any kind of life we want. We can break God’s laws or follow them. We are not robots and have been given the gift of free choice. We have the right to shake our fist at God or bow down on our knee in prayer or worship Him. Eve chose to share the apple with Adam in the Garden of Eden and he chose to take a bite. Even Jesus made a choice to die on a cross when he could have walked away. In the Old Testament, Joshua spoke these words when addressing the Israelites in Joshua 24:15

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

And so it is that we have the right to resist or follow, yet despite all our rebelious nature, God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to take it to the cross for us as sinners and die for us. He wants us to follow him. That’s a choice we get to make. I’ve made my choice but whom do you choose to serve?

chase

I knew they were launching them in the morning because the sky was a brilliant red as the sun slowly crept across the horizon and the air was still. When I saw the first one float sihouetted across the morning sky, I jumped on my bike and pedalled toward them. My balloon chase was invigorating and purposeful. Myself and others along the trails captured the hot air balloons in full flight on our cell phones, cameras and retinas. It was spectacular!

Police chase criminals, dogs chase balls and people even chase storms. The French word “to hunt or strive for” is “chacier”. When we follow or go after someone or something we want, we are chasing whatever it is in hopes of acquiring whatever that is. I was chasing balloons. Some chase words when they are writing and others chase after illustions and dreams.

Years ago I read a book called Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson. His book is based on 2 Samuel 23 where the warrior, Benaiah chases after a lion. Mark’s book is “a wake-up call to stop living as if the purpose of life was to simply arrive safely at death. Our dreams should scare us. They should be so big that without God they would  be  impossible to achieve. Quit running away from what you’re afraid of. Chase the lion! Change the world!”

Pharoah and his army chased the Israelites but they were swallowed up into the sea; Joshua chased and defeating countless armies and even David chased after God’s own heart and was rewarded for it. Jesus had a mission on earth to seek and save (Luke 19:10). He pursed the lost. 1 Timothy 6:9-11 tells us that those who chase after riches are constantly falling into snares and temptations, ruin and destruction; wandering from the faith and having many griefs. Riches, fame and love relationships might be important to us, but God pursues us because we are important to him. We can chase the wind, earthly desires and unrealistic dreams, but if we chase after God’s will, God’s word and God’s heart, we can be sure that we are moving in the right direction.

God may be even chasing us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggRCZ6OQVaQ Won’t you let him catch you?

stand

“O Canada, we stand on guard for thee” is a line from our national anthem. Election results are in and Canadians have shown where they stand. When I was in elementary school, our class would start the day by marching single file into the hallway and meet the other students filing from their rooms to stand with us on the linoleum at attention while we sang the national anthem. My problem was that I would lock my knees, start feeling light headed and then not so gracefully faint onto the floor often banging my head. Eventually, the teacher would bring a chair for me and I would be allowed to sit because standing on my own only caused a disruption and a headache for me.

In 2014, Henry Jackman composed a song entitled, Taking a Stand for the movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. When the composer put the film’s music score together, he wanted to capture the audience through a blend of modern and traditional superheroic sounds and scores. When one listens to the music, you are transported by the “strong, sort of slightly powerful tune.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENzNJiQNSCc Have a listen!

Lately, we hear the phrase, “stand in my truth.” What exactly does that mean? Is your truth better or worse than mine? Do you want to stand out from the crowd? I do believe there is only God’s truth and that never fails. Whether it’s the sentinels standing at attention in their uniforms or a music stand holding the score for a conductor; eventually they will need to be retired or they wear out. When we stand on God’s promises, we stand on the Rock of our Salvation and truth and justice reign forever.

Jesus stood in front of Pilate. Daniel and his three friends, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah. took a stand against eating the food of the king’s table. David stood up to Goliath. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13 to “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand firm.” We are also to “be watchful, stand firm in the faith…” 1 Corinthians 16:13a

Some people say that if you stand for anything, you will fall for it too. What do you stand for? Justice? Truth? Jesus? Maybe it’s time to take a stand.

freedom

Next week, all adults in Canada will have had the opportunity to vote in a federal election to determine the future of our country. What a privilege it is to live in a democracy where we are able to have a voice in our government.

And yet, many Canadians are caught in the nets of fear and anxiety. I recently listened to a podcast by Michael Meade where he shares an old wisdom story about three fish - a wise one, a half-wise one and an unwise one. The story reverberates the fact that we need to reconnect to our deep self and realization. Each person has battles and troubles, but when uncertainty and anxiety threaten us, we have two choices: to be threatened or to look for new opportunities to grow emotionally, spiritually, naturally and even physically. And so, as people go to the polls, we pray that positive choices will be made.

What comes to mind when I ponder these thoughts is what I saw recently on my cloudy, drizzling Saturday drive. Throughout the day I saw a number of hawks. The first one was much like the unwise fish. It was literally standing on the shoulder of the highway looking like it almost wanted to cross the road but was frozen in fear or hurt beyond movement. It was in danger from being hit by any one of the many passing vehicles on the road and yet it didn’t fly away. This bird is representative of the people who are afraid of an outcome, afraid of any action or those who have made unwise choices but can’t move forward for whatever reasons.

Then a few minutes later, I watched two hawks sitting on fenceposts in the rain. As I drove by, they reminded me of the half-wise fish that realized he would be caught in a net but had lost his chance to escape to the ocean. These birds represent the people that have been trapped in regret, but it is too late and they will need to wait for “next time” because they had their chance but didn’t take it. The hawks could sit there all day getting wet, or they could choose to fly away.

And then later in the day, I saw two hawks circling above my head. These of course are like the wise fish that set out on its own when it realized that fishermen were in the bay casting their nets into the water. It knew it was time to seek safety. The birds are able to soar above and are not stuck on the roadway or on a fencepost. They represent freedom to fly and the people who choose to see the world from a different perspective above the crowd. When we set out on our own, we may discover many sights.

Jesus talks about different kinds of seeds that are sown along the path and how each one represents different people. The parable of the sower gives people choices as well.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13: 18-23

I pray that people will make positive choices as their seeds fall on good soil to produce an abundant crop and represent the wise fish and the soaring hawk to help us live in freedom.