In the still of the night, the word “Serendipity” came to me. There was no reason for the thought. There had not been any text that I had recently read that included the term. My first inclination was to write it down lest I forget. Unfortunately, I had not placed my journal by the bedside before going to sleep. Assuring myself that it would not leave me, I turned over and went back to sleep.
Of course, when morning came, the expression was gone in the midst, like the vapor of a dream.
Silently, the car made its way up the mountain. The turns in the bends, the fog, and the words of scripture which passed through my lips brought comfort in this predawn hour. Forgetting the day, the course of life, only the moment therein was alive. Suddenly, like a flash of light from the distant horizon, the word returned, “Serendipity!” Putting it in my waking consciousness, I vowed to retain it long enough to get it down on paper – and more importantly, to see what it meant.
[noun]
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
“a fortunate stroke of serendipity.”
Sunday Morning, Collettsville General Store
After reading the meaning, the definition didn’t sit well with my soul. A word within its meaning caused me to wince – “chance.” When we walk in faith, when our journey is fully directed by God, there is no chance. It was here, again as a moment paused in time, that the walk to church last Sunday came to mind.
Rounding the bend in the road, there was the continued reminder of mortality. Someone at some point dumped off a deer carcass in the bushes. Time and weather had aged the remains into a stark, ivory remnant that stood out amongst the gray of winter’s last vestiges. It was not the first time I had seen it. Yet, it remained as a tale of life gone on before, the morbidity of the season – bone against a dreary backdrop of one’s demise.
The thoughts of the journey my life had become began to emanate from those bones, as a subtle suggestion of that likewise, time would end for us all – some sooner than later. Yet, there was the continued push to learn, absorb, and become more than I once was. The season of growth had not just begun but had continued since the long journey began, now six years long.
My eye caught the rushing waters of the river and how they pulsated against the rocks, flowing ever more furious downstream, never stopping, never yielding. As my way continued, my direction was upstream, against the river’s current along which I walked. “So much like the life I live,” were the thoughts that seemed to flow into my head. How much easier my life could be if it weren’t constantly going against the tide. Yet, to serve as I have been called to do, there is no time to waste. There is an impetus to strive for that next hill of knowledge, to seek the wisdom that cometh from God only.
These are the times in which my life’s journey has become.
Then there is the comparison of the natural world, the secularism of man, pursuing itself – washing the multitude of humanity with it downstream to the ocean. We who seek God go against this current. Some can barely stand firm without being washed away, like those rocks wherein the water below crashes violently against. As long as they remain, the water, the worldly current complains in the tempest of thrashing white water. Some give way and are tumbled along, not happy with their displacement, eventually finding footing once more to continue their stance, while others never find a way to resist and are washed away with the multitude.
As my path found its way to the porch of the Collettsville General Store, I discovered that my arrival was greeted by a lonely Blue-Tick Hound, likely a hunting dog that had been lost in the night. He welcomed me as if this was his home and treated me to a gratifying pat upon his neck. Soon, we found ourselves sitting side-by-side on that familiar spot. Once before, two dogs, Barney and Otis, had likewise provided companionship when there was none other. As we sat, watching that tide of humanity rush by, like those frantic waters of the John’s River flowing behind us, we sought the peace of God about us.
Once more, the word pursed its impression upon this reflected scene – “Serendipity.”
May you find the peace of the Lord today, no matter how small the token. Embrace what God hath provided and pause for a moment, giving thanks. As my late father would say of moments like these, “The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the grass is green. What else could be better?”
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…” – John 14:27
This evening, Christmas Eve to be
exact, the fire in the hearth hisses and crackles at me. The warmth soothes my
weary bones, like the stones upon which the firelight flickers against, warming
them, bringing them back to life. Late this afternoon I took a break from
wiring the Retreat and took a much overdue walk. It was an early Christmas gift
to myself, you might say.
The sky was a perfect Carolina
blue with the sunlight filtering through the barren branches of the forest. My
body felt sluggish, not something I had remembered in recent times. From the
recent medical prognosis, it was apparent that I would never be as fast or as
strong as I once was physically. Those sub-five-minute miles will only be a
memory from now on (unless, of course, I’m driving in a car). In fact, as the
saying goes, “I’ll never be as good as I once was.” It wasn’t quite the gift I
had expected. As my weary legs finally carried me back to the Retreat, I was
thankful just to have been able to walk along the whispering creeks and waterfalls.
The family was still gone on some
last-minute Christmas Eve errands. So many spent the recent days hurrying and
fretting over preparations for the perfect day when family and friends will
fill their homes. I was thankful to be free of that burden and able to relax
for a change. Back inside my little cabin in the woods, I stoked the fire back
to a roar and sat back sipping on a hot brew As the burgeoning flames cracked
and popped, my mind pondered the recent scripture that would not leave my head;
from the book of Luke. It is probably the most quoted gospel this time of year.
From the point when Mary has received the direction of the Arch
Angel Gabriel, to the immaculate conception, there is a story within itself. “And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God.”[1]
Like the
spark that lights the fire, the hand of God came upon Mary, and in that
instant, the being of God in the form of human flesh began to develop in her
fetus. The “Most High” overshadowed her. The Greek word for “overshadow” is
comprised of two words, which basically describe a cloud of energy that
enveloped Mary, at which point, Christ was literally conceived. To understand
in our simple humanness is more than a struggle. Yet, the indescribable doesn’t
stop there.
Later, when Mary and Joseph reach Bethlehem, as it was foretold,
Jesus would be born in a lowly manger, a trough from which animals eat.
Remember the prodigal son and how it was described that he fell so far that he literally
ate out of the same troughs as the pigs which he tended. Our Lord and Savior
was born in such a condition, in a feeding trough. And when Mary had wrapped
him in swaddling clothes, rags if you will, he was ready to receive the many
guests that would soon arrive.
Unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph, out in the neighboring fields of
Bethlehem, shepherds were standing watch over their flocks at night, when
another Angel came to them. Now before I jump into the scripture that you have
probably heard a thousand times, allow me to precede it with something that you
may have never thought of before.
As I have already alluded, this was not just a common birth. This
was literally God being born for the first time ever, in the form of human
flesh. It was a sentinel moment in the history of God. This was a moment in
eternity in which the significance, although entirely missed by the spiritual leaders
of the time, would so impact the entirety of Glory above that it would be as if
all of heaven’s Angels, for a moment, would stop everything and come to earth
to attend the birth of a Savior, the son of God. For the first time in all of
creation, God was coming to earth, to be born of a lowly handmaiden, in a
stable. Had those Pharisees and Jewish leaders understood the prophecies of
which they supposedly had learned so well, they too could have joined the
unimaginable moment with all of creation, but they would not. They would be
lost to the moment and forever because of their unbelief. What they would miss
would be the gift of a lifetime, of an eternity. God would come to earth to
live and die like one of his own creation’s so that he would feel our pain,
know our suffering so that when he would eventually defeat death, and his blood
would flow freely down the cross, we would know that God had given us the most
precious gift mankind would ever know; His Son.
Now, reread the scripture with that picture in your mind, “And
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night.And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said
unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and
saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the
shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this
thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”[2]
Notice how the shepherds feared the initial Angel and how it
comforted them until they were somewhat at ease. It was then, once they had
been calmed that the enumerable multitude of Heavenly hosts appeared before
them. So great was the light that it could be seen beyond the local pastures of
Bethlehem. Luke would later recall, in separate writings, how many
philosophers, scientists, and spiritual leaders would recall seeing the bright
light in the sky and how each of them would separately interpret the scene. Imagine
the lowly shepherds, uneducated, poor, and of simple faith, and how their
hearts might have stopped but for a moment in awe at the sight before them; the
heavens filled with Angels on high. The angelic illumination was so bright that
the mere mortal shepherds would have nearly been blinded, without and within. They
literally had been moved beyond belief as can be seen by the following passage.
“And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made
known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told
them by the shepherds.”[3]
These men, who were in charge of other men’s flock, left their
post and ran into town. The mere fact that they abandoned their livelihood to
seek out the babe in swaddling clothes would tell you of their sheer panic. Adrenaline
rushing through their veins, they sought the length of the city for the
child. They didn’t stop until they found
him. When they finally reached the stable, covered in sweat, breathing heavily,
they hesitantly entered, knowing that this was no normal child for which they
were to admire. There before them, glowing underneath the watchful eye of his
mother, was the babe of whom the Angel had spoken. Mary had instinctively picked
up her baby to protect him when this mass of strangers began to enter the
stables. But to her disbelief, they now fell at her feet and began to worship
her child. They would eventually share with her and Joseph the reason for the
worship and awe of the infant child. From there, the shepherds would not stop.
They would leave the stable and go far and wide sharing their story.
Eventually, they would return and share with her the wonderful reactions and
praises for which the Christ child had heralded. Mary’s head had to be spinning
at all that had transpired in just a matter of months. She had gone from a
simple peasant to the mother of the Son of God. She had to be dreaming, she
might have told herself more than once. And as you can imagine, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”[4]
Luke’s interview with Mary and her recanting this story, as it was likely
shared with her many times by those exact shepherds, so impacted Luke, a
physician, that he kept it just as it was told to him. In fact, all of the
story, from the immaculate conception to the birth is recounted through the
eyes of this glorious and wonderful physician, as he was known in his time.
That being said, you can now perhaps better understand the significance of the
timeline for which these events took place. Perhaps, even more, that you may
think about this precious gift we all have been given, even now, as the realm
for which God gave his only begotten Son so that any who should believe shall
be saved.
Tomorrow, if not already, you will hopefully have family
and friends over to open gifts and to celebrate Christmas. When the wrapping
paper is finally collected, and everyone has had time to contemplate their
gifts, both given and received, some may take time to reflect upon the reason
behind the most significant holiday on our calendar, at least to most people.
If allowed, ask them to listen for a moment, and share with them something special.
Share with them the greatest story ever told.
In life, we reach a point when we only reduce our
biological stability, perhaps maintaining for a while, but eventually, we will
slow a few more steps, rise a bit slower, and recall even less. Yet, through it
all, we should be thankful in our daily walk, no matter the struggles, and
remember that we have been given the most precious gift known to man. Nearly
2000 years ago, a present was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger,
not under a tree. Those who were there to receive did not need to unwrap their
gift to know its importance.
Tomorrow, pause for a moment and give thanks to God above
for the greatest gift of all.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”-Isaiah 40:31
For once, he waited upon the weather; yet, it did not come. It unknowingly gave him time to pause and wait upon the Lord.
Technology had afforded him the foresight to know that storms were brewing in the distance, so he planned accordingly rather than going ahead. In his younger days, he would have gone ahead, not knowing, not caring, for if it were God’s will, then it shall be done.
One can never put man’s inventions before the designs of God. Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”
One hot, steamy Chatham County summer, he had started building a log cabin. It was not from a kit, it was not a prefabricated log assembly; no, it was from scratch. Finding a Coleman canvas eight-man tent at a yard sale, he set up camp and worked each day from sun up to sun down. He could go for days without seeing another soul. As he worked, his mind thought about his life and all that had transpired. The world in which he now lived was more of one with the land than ever before. It was as if he could feel a rhythm in the earth around him, one that God had created but man had ignored in the making of a world of his own. It was on one of those sultry afternoons when the work slowed because of the oppressive heat that the rhythm took on another tone; a dark rumble from beneath the soil rattled his awareness. Before he could gather his thoughts to take shelter, the flashes of lightning began to flash around him. Just over the hill, a black cloud pursued as the winds began to pick up tempo, so did his preparations to take cover. As he ran down the hill through the woods, the crashes of lightning hitting the earth were like mortar shells erupting all around him.
His heartbeat in his ears and nothing more.
Upon reaching the safety of his tent, he opened a flap at the opposite end to allow the pressure in the room to equalize. From his vantage point upon the bed made of cedar saplings lashed together, he watched with fascination and fear as the thunderbolts struck closer and closer, the earth-shaking tremors of resonance into his bones. He grasped the edges of the bed and prepared for the worst. The trees bent nearly double outside his little window. The rain was a sheet of water now, as the tent sides began to push in; yet, standing firm. Closing his eyes, he prayed that if it be God’s will to die, that it be quick; otherwise, he prayed that he be allowed to live to serve Him more.
When he opened his eyes, the trees had shifted to the opposite direction as the sound of a massive locomotive passed overhead. For a moment he could imagine himself lying between the steel rails of the train track as the roar of the steam engine passed overhead. In a matter of minutes, the dark clouds had dispersed, and the storm was gone. A mile down the road, it looked as if a bulldozer had gone through the woods, completely leveling massive trees, including the beautiful old oak in front of Jerry Moses’ home. He had survived and rode out the storm on nothing more than a bed made of cedar saplings and in a canvas tent; it has surely been God’s will.
For if it be God’s will, then it shall be done.
Fast forward, the same man, now standing on the edge of the Germanesca valley, high in the Cottien Alps. Around him, multiple waterfalls cascade down from tremendous heights. He is with a hiking companion, who like himself, had not planned on going this far today. The wind begins picking up the roar of the waterfalls, spiraling them around as they became a voice unto their own. They had not checked the weather reports for the day, but there seemed little to fear. The sky was an azure blue as far as the mind’s eye could see. There were no plans to go as far as they had. What seemed as a short leisurely hike had now become a mission; to reach the summit before their allotted time expired. The hiking companion was his junior by nearly 30 years, yet they were both feeling the effects of the altitude. As he paused, it was as if he waited upon the Lord to strengthen his legs. They had started at nearly 4,000 feet in altitude, and before they reached the summit, they would climb another 5,000 feet. He would need more than just his own power to make this journey. Silently he prayed asking God to give him the energy, and fortitude to make it to the top. Before he could finish, there was a surge of electricity that seemed to flow through his core, down through his legs to his feet. Suddenly, it was as if he could no longer feel the growing weariness in his thighs that moments before had made him question this endeavor. From there, it was if he had mounted on wings of eagles as they passed one group after another making their way up the mountain. They eventually made it to the top where they openly confessed thanks to having lunch with God. It was if Heaven’s door was within reach.
He had waited upon the Lord, and his strength had been renewed.
When he rolled out of bed today, before knowing the storms were coming, his body ached. Even though he had taken Sunday off from his labors, his body was worn from the daily toil in the summer heat. Once more he was building another structure, but unlike the cabin before, this one would be much larger and much more challenging. Add to that being nearly 30 years older, it was as if the odds were stacked against him. Although he was up for the task, his aging frame was having second thoughts. His right wrist had already suffered a strain and needed to be kept in a brace while he worked. Both hands had fingertips worn raw from the concrete blocks he was laying since the gloves he wore had long since been worn out. In essence, he needed more than just one day to recover, but the clock was ticking.
Thankfully, the pause of the morning was just enough to give him a chance to feel God’s grace once again. Once the errands had been run, he resumed his work and pushed through until he could go no further. He could walk and not faint, but he was certainly close.
As he covered all the items to be kept in the dry, he looked back and saw that three of the four masonry foundation walls were complete.
It was not the mountaintop, but he was getting closer each day.
Moments later, the rumble of thunder shook the valley below, and within minutes, the flood of the summer rains came cascading down. Like a sigh of relief, he rested once more as the strains of raindrops pattering against the window panes soothing his weary soul.
One step closer, one day more, we reach for the summit of that far distant shore.
In all we do, let us serve Him so that in all we do, God’s will shall be done.
