Howling like a distant train above the sky,
Through naked branches the cruel wind must fly.
It hurls crisp leaves into the deepest black,
Striking cold sidewalk with clickety clack.
A pack of dogs dancing on their long claws,
Clickety clack when the bitter wind pause.
Damp leaves matted layers against the stone wall,
A wet dog cower’ng at the close of fall.
Shadows among dark clouds and wind raging
Growling gale warns of winter approaching.
Posted in Creation, Faith, Nature, tagged darkness, faith, light, nature on December 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Faith that, come spring, there will be yellow crocuses.
Somewhere buried under the snow are small brown bulbs encased in the frozen earth. Planted in an act of faith, trusting that after winter, spring will come, as it has come for millenia.
They were planted trusting that the soil will warm again and green shoots will emerge from seemingly lifeless bulbs.
Planted in faith that after a dark winter, the days will get longer and the sun warmer.
Faith that reminds us that even in darkness, there is light. And that light will overcome the darkness.
And in faith that, come spring, there will be yellow crocuses.
Posted in Creation, tagged blessings, earth, God, luck on December 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »
The other day I met a tiny elderly woman from Greece. Her husband, she explained with great pride, had gone home to Greece to pay their taxes. They emigrated 40 years ago but every year they go home to pay the taxes on their small Greek property.
God has blessed us with a fruitful and wonderful earth.
After bemoaning the state of the economy in her home country, she pointed out that here we have a good economy, roads, transit, hospitals and schools because people pay their taxes.
We are so lucky to live here, she said, very lucky. She lives in a modest one bedroom apartment in a low-income area of the city. Yet she counts herself lucky.
We are lucky. Some would say blessed, but the word “blessed” in this context troubles me. How is it that I was born to this family, and not to an impoverished family in the developing world? Did I get an extra dose of blessing at conception? Are others somehow less blessed because of their birth family? Does God bless some of us more than others?
What I do know is that we have enough resources on earth to feed everyone. Maybe God has blessed us with a fruitful and wonderful earth, and we’re supposed to figure out how to care for it and share it.
As for me, I don’t need to buy a lottery ticket. I have already won the lottery just by living here with so many advantages. The challenge is how to share.
Posted in Creation, Nature, tagged beauty, creation, flower, God, hope, resurrection, seeds on December 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »
When I see the muted colours of autumn I imagine God’s paintbrush making the first rough brush strokes of next year’s glorious painting.
The promise of new creation is written in muted tones, browns and greys and somber greens. And if you look very closely there is wondrous beauty hidden here, in the last remnants of autumn.
Tiny white fringes like miniature ruffles on a pixie’s ball gown.
A dead flower head reveals hundreds of tiny white fringes like miniature ruffles on a pixie’s ball gown. In the centre, a few black seeds are left behind.
Awesome tiny seeds that are poised to scatter on the frozen ground in the next north wind, survive the deep cold and miraculously come to life as new green shoots in spring.
There is both beauty and hope in these dried husks, a season’s end and the promise of resurrection.
Seeker of Wisdom 