Silence Is Golden

Why does the smell of a campfire in the fall just draw me in like a fish on a line? Maybe its the cool autumn air coupled with the warmth of the burning logs or maybe it's the smell of the wood burning that tells me that a change is coming or maybe the knowledge that I will be surrounded at that fireside by many other fish and their company brings me happiness! Whatever the reason, a campfire holds lots of moments of joy with each spark that flies out into the cool and dark night air. Have you ever noticed how there are occasional moments of silence when everyone present just seems to get to the pinnacle of relaxation and stares into the flickering flames? No words seem to be necessary at that moment. There's just a "knowing" and a sort of "silent agreement" that calls for no words at all! I experience that same "silent knowing" many times on long trips in the car with my husband of 40 years. We will be talking one minute and noticing the scenery the next and then. . . . it happens; the silence! It's perfectly wonderful. No words are needed to "fill" the space, no awkward nervousness, no throat clearing sounds to provoke intentional guilt, nothing! Just beautiful, understood quiet . . . . But quiet that speaks louder than any public address system ever could! It's the result, I believe, of coming to a point of relaxation and comfort. It's truly a beautiful thing to experience. Why don't we go there more often in our lives? Busyness, I'm sure is the biggest millstone around our necks that keeps us weighed down I suppose but truth be known, we all just need to stop and take more campfire moments. We need to exercise moments if you will so we will want them and run after them at every opportunity. Those moments don't have to be a rare treat but I believe they can happen often and become a real treasure to us. So, light a campfire, take a roadtrip or just sit out under the stars with the one you love wrapped up together in a cozy blanket, then ask God to give you one of those moments. The "silence" will be truly "golden"!

Insight Insert: In the midst of our busy lives and schedules, take time this week to have a few moments of silence somewhere. Go out of your normal places of routine and breath in the quiet of your Lords creation. Purpose to experience the quiet stillness that brings relaxation. Persevere through the temptation to cut those times short and begin to practice his peace! It will leave you wanting more!

Scripture: Mark 6: 31.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, " Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest"! 

Psalms 55:6. Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

Touching Others

Ok, true confession time. I am a hugger!! There, I said it. In most cases I can't just shake people's hands, I have to take it to the next level and wrap my arms around them and squeeze them. Oh, I'm no respecter of persons either. I admit it! Women, men, boys or girls; they all get the same squeeze treatment. I'm not sure why I am a hugger but maybe it's because I love to get hugs so I just think everyone should get them. Oh. . . . . . . .but not everyone wants them I have discovered. You can always tell the "wanters" from the "non-wanters", they either step back and stick out their hands for a quick handshake or they turn into a piece of lumber when you hug them. Gotta love the "lumber" ones, it's kind of like they just don't know how to react to a hug or any kind of affectionate gesture. And then there are the "germ-a-phobes" , they just put both hands up and make some excuse like, " sorry, it's cold and flu season you know"! They all still make me smile because I know that deep down inside there has most likely been some wound or scar or heaven forbid, no hugs at all in their lives. 

     There is something very therapeutic, I believe, about human touch. It has been proven that in infants there are definite adverse effects to non-touch. 100 years ago a great many  babies in orphanages in the U.S. died before they were 7 months old. They didn't die from an epidemic necessarily or disease or malnutrition but they died from a condition known as "failure to thrive" which is cause primarily from a lack of touch. You see, God's design started with the skin of each of us in the mothers womb. Our skin derived from the same cells as our nervous system and is the perfect instrument for gathering information about our surroundings long before birth. Also, newborn infants are not fully developed at birth because their vision isn't clear and they can't differentiate sounds. Babies communicate with the world almost entirely through their skin. So, messages that are received through touch will have definite effects on our behavior for the rest of our lives. I must have been touched "a lot" when I was a baby because, like I said, "I'm a hugger!" Being touched in some way was in Gods design and plan for each of us. So, if you are "hug deprived", begin to add it into your diet. If you are a hugger, like me, "keep on huggin" and if you don't particularly relish the thought at all of hugging other people. . . . . . Please, please reconsider! Hugging can change everything.

Insight Insert:  You may think that I am going to suggest that you start hugging more people this week but Im not! I will suggest to you to do just the opposite. If someone would normally hug you when they see you then I would challenge you to resist and try not to hug. I think you will see that this little experiment will be more difficult than you think. You see, we naturally crave and need human touch and whether you admit it or not you too may be a hugger! If on the other hand you know that you definitely are NOT a hugger then I challenge you to hug at every opportunity like you will never see that person again. In either instance I truly believe that you will come to understand a little better the importance of human touch.

Scripture:  Romans 12:10.  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ESV 

Death Comes To My Landscape

Today I cried for a tree. It wasn't any ordinary tree mind you but an "extraordinary creative work" fashioned and formed by our Creator and it was deemed “dead and unworthy to stand” so today it came down. I don’t usually cry for trees because well, they are after all, just trees. I think I cried because I knew that this particular tree had stood there for at least 200 years, given shade to some, acorns to the wildlife and ultimate beauty to all who stood in its shadow. It had stood the test of time and today was the day that it left the landscape of this world. One positive note is that it will still work its purpose for firewood to those in need of heat and mulch to landscapes thereby giving its last bit to the purpose of life going on. This last couple of weeks in my life have seemingly seen several things around me, like the tree, crumble and fall and come to an end. This house that I am currently blessed to live in sits high atop a hill overlooking a lake. It's stunningly beautiful. As part of my view I had an old bridge that was especially estetecallly pleasing to the eye at the base of my hill that crossed over the lake. It was an old cantilevered trussed bridge built back in 1942. Well, they have been building a new bridge beside it, a wider bridge, that could more easily handle the traffic. The new bridge just opened and it was simple and purposeful in its straight but flat architecture. The other day their was a massive explosion. I ran outside and saw that they had blown up the old bridge. Now I know it sounds a bit crazy but my heart was very very sad. You see, like my oak tree, that bridge was beautiful to look at but it had grown old and weak and had also served its purpose so it was brought down. It felt once more as if I suffered a loss or a death of something very close and dear to me. My friends that I spoke to about my losses were sympathetic but didn't seem to understand the depth of the loss that I was feeling. Thats ok because things affect us all in different ways at times. But two things in a short period of time felt monumental to me. The whole landscape of my present world was changed in a flash with a massive explosion and a chain saw. I know i know! Change has to come to everything at some point but my tree and my bridge was just too much. So, I cried! Now that the smoke and sawdust have settled and I have regained my composure I have to believe that I will grieve but I will be ok. You see, everything that happens to us in our lives is purposeful.  I truly believe that.  So, as I look out upon my landscape today it looks much different. There is an empty space where my magnifiscent tree stood and the green trussed architecture of my bridge is gone but still lingers in my memory. They cannot be replaced. But it's a new year and change has come so I must embrace it and make new memories. Tomorrow is a new day with new mercies as the Bible tells us. I believe it so im honor of a great old tree and a beautiful old bridge I will cry no more but give thanks for the change that still comes whether we want it to or not. There's a reason and purpose to every season. Great is they faithfulness O God our Father. 🌳🌉