I remember back then when walking along the swamp path I remember seeing lavender, pink and orange Hugging the horizon A rich palette of color Leaking through skeletal trees Announcing the arrival of the sun To light the day.
I remember walking not so long ago Same path, same sky, same everything Yet a gray shroud laid across the sky holding back A flood of color trying in vain to influence the day Amidst steel wool clouds rolling out an even darker gray All making me wonder, why bother If there is no sunrise To light the day
Then I remembered something As I walked along the swamp path I remembered some wisdom from a friend who said Even though the kaleidoscope of morning beauty Is hidden and all seems lost, grim, hopeless Unseen on the other side of the gray There’s always a sunrise To light the day
Some think, “Um, pine trees?” Yep, they are pine trees.
Some think, “Wow, tall.” For sure, they are tall
Some think, “Magnificent.” Magnificent. No doubt.
And some think, “Cathedral.” A place for worship.
Indeed, a cathedral to worship the Creator of magnificent, tall pine trees
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
*I was weeding the flowerbeds the other day. I took along my camera. Here’s a ‘square inch’ of God’s creation that I found.
*****
One day I spied … a creature Exploring a rocky corner
Not one day Not two days But many days of exploring … Searching for what?
Searching the rocks for
A bite to eat? A place to live? A mate? … All the while darting all around? How?
This creature has wings
Four wings Amber wings Four, big Amber wings … What about the rest of it?
This creature’s body
Has three sections - head, thorax, abdomen It’s two inches long, black, yellow, red With one wicked looking stinger … Anything else?
Only the female
Lays eggs Digs the burrow Has a stinger to paralyze prey … Prey, what prey? Pray tell?
Ah, the prey!
Here’s where we get the clue It will help us name this very interesting insect This large, flying wasp of a creature In search of a … cicada … To nourish newly hatched eggs
And deer! Lots and lots of deer! Dressed in the morning snow Melting away into a white trailside cathedral
And birds! Lots and lots of birds! … a flicker, hugging a tree trunk … downy woodpeckers, flitting about … chickadees, darting from snowy twig to snowy twig … a pileated woodpecker, the avian prize
And tracks! Lots and lots of tracks! Dog-like, but not a dog’s A coyote! A gray ghost, ahead, watching, then trotting away.
And me! … alone on the snowy path, but not alone If you know what I mean
This is my Father’s world… If you know what I mean…
Walk as Children of Light 