Rapid River

Scripture

“Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”  (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NRSV) 

Rapid River

The river, swollen with spring runoff, roared in torrents over the rapids heading down the next stage of its travels. Most of the water flowed straight ahead but some in the narrowed channel at the rapids’ base swirled back around in complex patterns. Edges of the flow tested the banks for openings to move around trees and grassy areas on the floodplain. On a retreat with a few friends during a morning time of reflection I sat for an hour watching all this. 

Later in the year the flow will be gentler, the channel narrower and the floodplain bare and trees located on dry land. It’s almost too easy to see life in this scene but on this, my birthday, I’m a bit reflective.  I’ve always felt that the Good God has allowed me to live in a stream of faith that has had its share of torrents but also times of gentleness – each stage has a beauty of its own, though sometimes pain is in the beauty. 

An hour of inner quiet surrounded by creation is an exceptional gift to our souls, and oddly it is often the last gift we give to our souls on a regular basis. We go to the gym, get mesmerized by our devices, do our vocational, family and community obligations but seldom give ourselves the gift of quiet. 

It’s the business I’m in and my struggle is likely the same as yours but we have experienced the refreshment in the silence of God’s presence in creation, gospel story and actual presence by the Spirit. And correction and encouragement to amend our ways comes in the quiet. 

A Prayer for Today

God of Creation and God of love, I too often race from one thing to another, distracted by the superficial urgency of the immediate tasks at hand, operating in self-sufficiency. Help me to take a few minutes, maybe 60 minutes in inner listening and outward sensing of your presence around and in me. Open my inner ears to hear and my eyes to see your love and your desire for me to grow into the image of your Son …. For Jesus’ sake