Monthly Archives: September 2012

Creatures of Habit

We are such creatures of habit that I am continually amazed at what a view from a different angle offers me.  Last evening we made an effort to break from habit and take a short boat cruise down the Potomac River to see the sights of Washington.  It was a lovely evening and the day was “Seattle summer” warm – in other words – no humidity and a pleasant 80 degrees.

We boarded a little tour boat and as the sun began to set low on the horizon, we went off down the river.  As we passed the familiar monuments, I marveled all over again at how they are so majestic and moving, standing as a witness to the lives and dedication of the people who contributed so much to the founding of our nation.  It was a joy to appreciate them from a different point of view.

It made me think of how often I get caught in my habits and refuse to see a different point of view.  It is a gift of grace to allow ourselves a freedom from habit and a new perspective in little things as well as big.  Think about offering yourself the gift of a different view.  It can be as simple as taking our daily walk on the reverse route; or shuffling the order of our preparations at the beginning of the day.  A branching out in the genre of what we usually read can offer us a new view; or stretching our ear to listen to music we wouldn’t ordinarily choose.  Flexibility in our habits, our choices, our thinking and our actions helps us to view the world more holistically and not so particularly specific. Everyone cannot see the world exactly as we do!  Others take other paths and make other choices and we are blind to them unless we are willing to step out of our habits and make an effort to see things from another perspective.

All from the grace of a 45 minute boat ride that allowed me a different view of the city where I live!

Changing Light

A walk through Old Georgetown yesterday afternoon allowed  me to appreciate all over again the changing angles of light and the ever-evolving / changing nature of our universe.  I marveled as houses built in the 1700’s received the afternoon light of 2012.  All this time later they are still essentially the same house, yet they are also very different from centuries of use and upkeep and, of course, the changing light of each day.

It made me wonder if we are allowing ourselves to receive the newness of each day’s light and letting it change us, while we essentially remain the same.

Sometimes the little changes are the most powerful.  Look at how the light falls differently throughout the day, one moment more beautiful than the last.  First the light is soft, yet full.  It rises to a brilliance at noon, and through the afternoon settles back into a shadowed softness that relaxes into night.  It is a grace to recognize how we may be changed by allowing the circumstances, conversations, relationships, events, and the ever-changing light of each day to fall upon us and change us.

Nothing is intended to stay the same.  Not a 1700’s house and certainly not us.  We were made to flourish within the changing moods and light of each day.

Allow the grace of changing light to fall upon you.  There is only more grace to be had.

Escape

Our escape from the DC area for the weekend was certainly graced.  Not only did we go that direction to escape the storms, we went in search of the wildlife and natural scenes of the Maryland and Virginia coast and we found both.  The days were perfect, and we enjoyed the walks and the lunches by the sea.  It truly felt as if we had escaped from all the demands and concerns of life.

We did not find the wild horses of Chincoteague Island, however we did find the wild mosquitoes!  On my search for a lovely picture of a path through the wooded beach and marshlands, the herd of mosquitoes attacked and I have the bites to show for my explorations!  I look like I have chicken pox!  However much they itch, they are a constant reminder of the grace of a lovely weekend.

 

What does grace feel like for you?

Avoiding the Storms

Living on the East Coast has made us avid storm watchers.  We’re not used to having so much weather activity during the summer months . . . and so, we watch the predicted weather changes.

In order to avoid a coming storm, and to maximize the weekend, we decided to travel east and south to visit Assateague and Chincoteague Islands in Maryland and Virginia, respectively.

We managed to avoid the storms and had a lovely weekend!  It was just far enough away to make us feel like we had traveled to another place and time.  The weekend felt like it was weeks and not just an “end.”  We came home refreshed and renewed from sights and sounds of beaches and the beauty of natural landscapes and protected wildlife.

Even without trying to avoid the storms we could treat ourselves to the grace of such a weekend more often!  Where do you go to avoid the storms?  Where do you find renewing grace when you’d rather not be in the eye of the storms of life?

Drawing Rooms

I’ve always wondered about “drawing rooms.”  I was probably first introduced to the drawing room in the game CLUE, remember?  Colonel Mustard did it in the drawing room with the candlestick.  But, what exactly is a drawing room?  I never knew.   It was especially confusing when old houses I would tour would have both a “parlor” and a “drawing room.”  So, what’s the difference?

Well, I just recently learned, that a drawing room is a room where a person could “withdraw” and be away from the clamor of daily activities.  It was a place for family only, and usually guests were never invited to enter the drawing room.  The parlor was to receive guests, and the drawing room’s function was to provide a place where the family could “withdraw” and not have to deal with the guests!

Small wonder that drawing rooms have disappeared from houses now that travelers do not stop at our dwellings and expect to be taken in for the night because there is no place else to stay.  Hotels and motels now provide adequate lodging for travelers and so there is little need for drawing rooms today.  Or, is there?

I can’t help thinking how welcoming a drawing room might be when we just want to be alone and sit with the silence for a moment.  Or, how inviting a drawing room might be if we wanted to read a good book without the television in the background entertaining some other member of the family.  Even Jesus withdrew to a quiet place – away from his disciples – to think and to pray.  So, where do we go to withdraw?

It’s worth thinking about.  Where do we go when we need space by ourselves and we would like grace alone to be our companion?

Inspiration

Inspiration.  What does it take to inspire us?  And, how do we inspire others?

When everything seems little more than ordinary, there is seldom opportunity for inspiration.  I think of this as I watch our political conventions this summer and wonder what makes something inspirational and something else simply ordinary?

“No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides.” These words by author Jan Phillips touch me deeply today.

Information; the ordinary; and the current state of affairs  . . . are all wonderful, and they all have their place.  But, what inspiration does for us is heighten our awareness to see in new and different ways.  Inspiration helps us to see possibilities we may have been blind to, or may have lacked the imagination to see.  Inspiration gives us a blank page; a clean slate.  It gives us the ability to see the possibility that something might be different and might bring new life and new energy to our day-to-day existence.  We are inspired when we can feel, see, taste, hear, or touch the “more” that is possible.  Inspiration moves us, and we are inspired when we feel we may be capable of the “more” we didn’t know we had within us.  It is a movement that can “turn the tides.”

Inspiration is so much more than information.  And, it is dispensed largely by example.  The way we live our lives; express our joys and fears; handle our problems; or confront our challenges can all be the stuff of inspiration.  And much of it is spoken in our lives without words or explanation.

Who has offered you the grace of inspiration?  And, who do you think you inspire?

Similarities

Another short drive over the long weekend and we were – once again – (this would actually make the third time) looking for the home of James and Dolly Madison at Montpelier.  It is not an easy place to find, being nestled in the Piedmont of Virginia at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  But, it did help us to decide that we would look specifically for Montpelier and not see it as a side interest to other destinations!

The approach is a long and winding drive up through beautiful meadows until we reached the house situated on a hill.  Making our way through the visitor center we learned that the Madison family, much like the Washington family, owned this land for 100 years before James was born.  He grew up here, lived here, brought his wife here to raise their family, came back here often during his presidency, and then lived here in his retirement, continuing to offer his brilliant mind to the unfolding of this new country he helped to create.   Truly an American, long before America was independent.  No wonder the colonists felt they needed independence – many of them had never seen the shores of England.

In the midst of all this firsthand history, standing on these grounds that nurtured our political ancestors, I can’t help but think of the similarities between our history as a free country and our history unfolding in the church in 2012.

Yes, now we have instant communication, and the world wide web, resulting in one world community.  But, truly, each individual community has its distinctive differences.  Each group of believers responds to the demands of the day slightly differently.  Each group of disciples prays and worships with their own experiences in mind, not the experiences of others in some far off distant land.   Are we one church?  Yes!  Are we different expressions of that one church?  Indeed, yes.

And similar to our political ancestors in this country, perhaps we need some prophetic voices today in our church that will help lead us to a grace-filled expression of church that truly embraces diversity – all kinds of diversity.  There are similarities here.  I pray for the grace for someone to voice them and to have the strength of mind and spirit to lead us into a future filled with grace and hope and unity.

Colors

I’ve been extra aware of colors for the past few days now.  It all started because I was photographing on a cloudy/sunny day.  When the sun was full and shining on my subject, the colors were vibrant and beautiful.  If I was focusing or adjusting settings and the clouds came across my subject, the colors faded into the background.  What an amazing thing light is!  And, colors can only really truly be seen in all their vibrancy in the fullness of the light.

It got me to thinking about how much light we allow into our lives.  How do our colors shine forth to the world?  Do we embrace the sun and show ourselves vibrant in the glowing light, or do we welcome the clouds and prefer the muted colors of cloudiness?  I imagine we are all a mix of both, and that is some of the beauty of creation.  No one – not even creation – can survive in constant fullness of brilliant light.  We need some shade to mute our experiences or we would never see the brilliance and fullness of the colors of life when they do appear.

Appreciate the light that allows our colors to shine brightly, yes, but also appreciate the clouds that mute the brilliance so that we can recoup and recover to appreciate the brilliance of the sun once it returns.

Everything must ebb and flow; shine and recede; rise and set; wake and sleep; live and die.  Accept each moment as grace.