Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Order... order... order... chaos!!!

In the foreword to the book "The Wisdom of Each Other", Eugene Peterson begins with the story of how John Muir, fearless explorer of the North American continent, when faced with a fierce, primal, lashing storm, did not retreat into a cabin, but climbed a Douglas fir at the top of the ridge and rode out the storm.

Spiriturality, Peterson says, has to do with life, and life is a crazy heck of the thing indeed. We would like to have it under our control, but it's not meant to be that way. The weather is a primal thing, after all, and life is full of the unexpected. Why else is the future something everyone wishes to peer into?

"Religion" on the other hand normally tries to piece together lots of things that seem spiritual, all the essences of "life", into a neat little bundle. Everything's figured out. We feel so nice and safe.

The question Peterson asks is what do we do then when a sudden storm of life blows our neat packaged life our of our hands, scattering it everywhere?

Will we run after and pick up the pieces, retreating into a safe haven to hide out from the elements? Or will we do a Muir and experience the Weather, "ready at the drop of a hat to lose my life to save it (Mark 8:35)?"

Somehow I feel like the "life" that seemed so ordered, peaceful and figured out to me has been blown apart.

And now what shall I do? Where shall I turn to?

Lord, I wish that you be my Douglas fir as I experience the full force of Life.

There's so much I have yet to know about.

Oh, that I would be teachable.

Perhaps that's the underlying reason for the storm after all?

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Now Playing: "Song of The Wretch" by Soo Tian performed live in front of the computer on my four-string classical guitar (2 strings broke). Dedicated to Tim.