LifeSpan

Blog 120 …

     "To everything, turn ... There is a season, turn …," so goes a once popular song.  It tells the truth about leave takings and on goings of material and natural living things. Always, something begins, and when its life, its novelty fades, it goes out and away with either a whimper or a bang.  It does not matter that the life itself takes an adventurous, complex, conflicted span.  It does not matter that it is long-lived or short-lived.  What truly matters is that life blossoms and breathes!

Roam

Blog 119 …

Take a step.  Stroll if you like.  Dare to hike up and down trails.  Stop and listen to the sounds of the arboretum’s wild life.  Walked far enough?  Get under a shade or sip fountain water and get refreshed; get your buddy critters to likewise quell thirst.  Rested now?  Get going, and pick up your pace. Tread down undiscovered spaces if you choose to.  Life in the open space invites you and your senses to wake up and be impressed !

Bridges

Blog 118 …

Tread on flat lands with confidence, but get riled when hills stump your way.  How do you cross over stealthy swamps, tricky marshes or murky ponds down in the wild lands?  Without well-designed bridges, it will be challenging to reach one’s desired spot.  Without well-structured passage links, catching a glimpse of rare birds and flowering plants in the bog will be farfetched.  Think about that, and then thank your lucky stars for bridges and channels constructed by creative hands!

OnGuard

Blog 117 …

Nothing beats chance-seeing a mother duck in guard of her young ones.  Look at them bask under the soft sun.  Imagine the sweet, yet firm quacks of advice she gives each one.  “Stay close together little ones.  Paddle and watch where you glide and swim.  I am right behind and watching!”

Heron

Blog 116 …

A lone heron nests away from its usual rough platforms of sticks commonly found in bushes or trees near water.  Perched on a limb by the swamp and marsh, it shakes off its downs after playfully wading in the shallow waters of Badin Lake.  It sits still and closely watches the water.  It must be time for hunting fish or frog that could feed a famished belly.  Soon, it will again stretch its neck and peruse the horizon.  It may choose to hold back its head against its body, flap its broad wings and let its legs trail loosely in majestic flight.  Watch closely and be awed!

BranchingOut

Blog 115 …

First begins a birth, a life, filled with potentialities.  Next, life appears to take natural paths, and then outbursts of growth.  Somewhere in between, life bumps into twists, and turns that complicates and narrows its possibilities for a straight and upward or widely-spreading spurt.  What in our circle draws us away from our determined, even hopes and dreams?  What is required to keep our will pruned, pliant, and obedient to our calling?

Repose

Blog 114 …

Finding space and repose intertwined in our surroundings is pure delight.  From the vast spread of soft, fresh greens afforded us, we could temporarily claim a spot to still our souls or we could occupy a welcoming bench and make it a perfect haven for our quiet reflection.  The breadth of our open and dedicated natural world gifts us with possibilities to explore  both lofty and transcendental thoughts;  it affords us to wallow into or to unpack our life aspirations.  Best, it stirs in us and it invites us to experience an overwhelming thankfulness for God’s magnificent creation!

Splendor

Blog 113 …

Behold the marvelous expanse.  It is there, here, and everywhere … verdantly vast, magnificently beautiful in repose.  Take a step … a stride … then stop to feel its permeating soft breezes brush and tickle all senses. The bog world, the natural world explodes in splendor!







Marked

Blog 112 ...

Graffiti canvas ... memory wall ... vengeance forum ... whatever was on your mind when you carved that message, that name, that thought on a tree trunk ... suggested extreme emotional expressions of the moment, but why perpetuate it on an innocent tree trunk? It was there - the unbearable scream.  It shed tears of pain as you mercilessly imposed that knife blade onto it, but you ignored it. You failed to see its scarred heart afterwards as it openly bore your marks of frustration and anger.  You couldn't have felt the timeless harm exposed wounds had done to its psyche.  Worse, passersby no longer are drawn to stop and rest under its shade; they don't anymore have the comfort to lean on its once sturdy covering. What would you do if it were your body skin violated? Would you not also carry the brunt of shame?





Reach ...

Blog 111 ...

Always, we are in search for something or someone. We even look up to the sky for something transcendental.  We as well try to reach out for something beyond our realm. We aspire to reach out for something we easily could not.  We even attempt to reach out to and for God.  The absolute wonder of it all is that we do not even have to.  God already has reached down to us, and constantly holds us in His hands. Advent reminds us of life’s great and abundant hope, joy, and peace in the love God bestows.  Live out God’s love, and celebrate it!