Think about the sensation you have when you are standing or sitting quietly,
your mind and all it's thoughts are far, far away.
Like an eagle gliding the hushed air currents,
riding the majestic heights of the majestic depths of the Grand Canyon.
Your soul is sailing a dreamer's sea; in another time; in a far away place.
Remember that feeling?
You had it walking along the late afternoon beach at the water's edge;
your eyes scanning the wet sand at your feet,
where the individual grains seemed more noticeable to you somehow.
You had only peripherally joined the parade in search of the perfect shell,
or some other sea-treasure washed to shore and placed lovingly at the feet,
as if a gift from mother-sea, because that individual was so special,
so well-loved and singled out to be the recipient of Marian's gem.
You watched the little baby waves splash coolness over your feet,
and skip back giggling to mother-sea.
You had that sensation while reading. Peaceful quiet tucked around you;
distant voices, barely heard, yet so distinctly articulated.
Your mind noted the anomalous intrusion, vaguely curious; and yawning,
walked away... away to that place; that far place;
where the sound and the feel of eagle wings gliding free air currents
washes through the shadows of your mind;
puffing in that kind of joy that is so solitary, and sweet;
clean, forgiven, new and refreshed.
It is a magical, mystical dance; a forever dance with time.
It is here in this holy place, resting in the arms of trusted strength,
as a well-loved babe, sung to, read to, and well-kissed --
here it is that your soul longs to dwell...
For here in this place, this dance with time, are your ideas so clear;
so lucidly compelling, but so beautifully gentle. They come to you so easily;
like the well-loved and well-kissed children they are; adoringly returning,
forever trusting, they fall into your arms -- riding your dance with time.
A moment, only a moment. But inside that moment
the voice of your stellar love comes to you like magnolia-scented breezes,
wafting again into your soul, and you know...
you know you've stood there since the dawn of eternity,
in peaceful anticipation, an unhurried wait.
You extend your arm, sending out your timeless search,
swaddled in the peculiar scent of your own spirit-joy; always looking for truth.
You've kissed those lips in your dance with time.
You've been carried in glee on the strength of those arms.
From the birth of eternity you've stood there on the edge, leaning out far,
sending out your spirit to find truth, again;
in your forever dance with time.
--by
yss (a gentle woman,occasionally forward)
©1997
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Shine
The sun is shining...or, at least it was eight minutes ago. Here, some
93 million miles away(give or take the difference between the perihelion
and the aphelion), we can't help but notice, appreciate the sun.
Californians are well known for their sun-loving habits. Where else can
you find bikinis and swimming pool floats and beach towels for
sale....in January??(okay, you got me...Melbourne and Sydney!)...That's
why most of them ARE Californians....Oregonians are probably even MORE
appreciative of the sun....because they so seldom actually see it...a
matter of faith, almost. In Oregon, you pray that summer, in the form of
a couple of consecutive warm, sunny days, comes on a weekend...so you
can enjoy it. You have to remind yourself, on those rare occasions, that
the strange glowing thing exultantly sending bright shafts of light
through all the cumulonimbic fluff is a natural phenomenon and is NOT,
in fact, the glorious and powerful King of Kings returning in the
clouds...(Hmmm...is that the distant sound of an angelic shofar I
hear???)
Of course, it's no great revelation that the sun is necessary for all
that lives and breathes here on this earth...(with the possible
exception of a few sulphur based life-forms that live near the
life-giving warmth of the spreading zones on the perennially dark ocean
floor) For all our recklessly brave displays of human independence, our
oft-inappropriate confidence in our ability as a species to always be
the fittest, to always survive and prevail, our top-of-the-food-chain
arrogance...if the sun had ceased to shine eight minutes ago, this
bright living planet would suddenly be a dark and frozen lifeless ball
of stone and ice. No solar-reflective moon at night. No radiant heating
of tropical atmospheric molecules. No swirling patterns of air currents.
No water in liquid state. No rain cycle. No photosynthesis. No
respiration of carbon dioxide or of oxygen. No life.
And yet, what does the sun actually DO?...Well, it DOES...nothing,
really. Like other stars, it moves through space on a pre-determined
galactic course....and it undergoes the process of hydrogen
fusion(...And God said,"Light, be!!"...or set into motion Maxwell's
Equations.)...In short, it shines, the passive result of that fusion
...and, as a consequence, 93 million miles away a small blue planet
dances, flourishes with life...not because the sun decided to make life
on earth possible, but because it shines (with no thought of the
consequences) and the earth is, by His design, in the perfect place to
derive the life-giving blessings of sunshine...And we look up with
wonder at God's 'greater light'...only perceiving it eight minutes
after-the-fact.
Daniel once equated people who impart wisdom, who lead others to
righteousness with shining stars. Shining is a passive act...more being
like Him and less striving to do what we think He would do. Shining is
faith...the pure and bright living faith that produces, by its very
nature, works acceptable to Him. Like the sun, we may never see the
profound effects of our shining. We may never perceive the blessings,
the life we impart to others...But rest assured, lives are changed(for
the better!!) because we shine (and let Him worry about the 'before
men' part)...and they behold with wonder, the great Light of the Saviour
shining in us and turn toward Him...and begin to shine
themselves...sometimes after-the-fact.
So often, I find myself sitting on the periphery, watching all of the
brave and beautiful, fearless people doing, seemingly without effort,
things that I find impossible...not the spectacular things(like
piloting a plane or performing surgery) even...just the ordinary
things...carrying a tune, riding a bicycle, holding one's own in a
conversation. You know, we live in a world that values Doing...It's so
easy to follow suit. So, I sit and curse my ineptitude and my vicarious
existence on the sidelines of church and life-in-general. Until He
reminds me that what He values is Being. Shining...
--by
Lauren
©1998
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Lauren's Necklace
I have a most unusual necklace. It's made of sterling silver.(not
unusual) I made it myself.(not common, but unremarkable) It was
carefully planned and lovingly executed. Between hammer and anvil, I
forged a smooth arc of angular silver wire.
Forging is a process whereby metal is given shape. For swordblades and
silver necklaces, the process is the same. Carefully administered
hammerstrikes are used to push, direct and guide the metal, causing it
to take on the desired shape. But there is more to it than that.
If you were to simply pound away, regardless of skill and care taken, it
would
not be long before you held dead, broken shards in your hands. Shaping
metal in this way causes it to become quite brittle. The process of
annealing is the necessary companion of forging.
Annealing is simple. Using a torch, heat your work-in-progress until
it
glows red and then quench it in cold water.(At one time, Spanish
blades,
forged in Toledo were renowned as the best in the world. The secret of
their success was this...after the last, defining tap of the hammer,
the
blade was once more heated to glowing red and then quenched, not in
water, but in blood. Plunged into the heart of a sacrificial slave.)
This process softens the metal, making it possible to continue the
work
of forging to its completion. It is from this cycle of the hammer and
anvil/the fire and the water...shaping/softening over and over again
until perfection is obtained, that great flexibility and tensile
strength is imparted to the metal, the work-in-progress.
If you're like me, you have been between hammer and anvil...Pain. And
you've been in the fire...More pain. And you've definitely been
quenched
in the Blood of the Sacrifice...His pain. Some days the only comfort
is
knowing that the painful cycle of shaping and softening is His means
of
bringing us, the works-in-progress, to perfection...a synthesis of
great
strength and awesome beauty.
Using a hand drawn paper pattern and the finest jewelers' saw I could
find, I cut and detailed abstract lotus blossoms from a sheet of
silver,
and soldered them to either end of tbe forged wire. The final step of
creation was to polish it, using several rouge compounds and a
jewelers'
high speed buffing machine. I looked with mounting wonder,
appreciation,
and pride as the very nearly finished work took on a life and beauty
of
its own in my hands, before my eyes...
and then the disaster...the
heartless buffer, spinning at speeds in excess of 10,000 RPM, ripped
my
very nearly newborn creation from my loving hands...and mangled it
into
something resembling a trainwreck. Twisted, broken, stillborn jewelry.
Cursing, raging, grieving under my breath, I interred the remains in a
drawer and left, seeking comfort, bitter laughter, or oblivion.
Eventually, I had to return and again open the drawer. What met my
eyes
was...potential. Twisted but filled with new direction and
possibility.
Again, the hammer and the anvil. New solder for the broken wire. A
second, much more wary session with the buffer. At last, creation
completed. And I, the creator, saw that it was very good, and I
rested.
Truth is, the necklace that rose from the wreckage turned out to be far more striking, possessed of deeper beauty than the one that died...The glories and process of restoration are much the same for both metal masterpieces in the hands of the artisan and human masterpieces in the
Hands of the Creator...Restoration is not about getting back something that you have lost. Rather, it is a long, intricate process of becoming far more than you could have ever been. You will find that the greatest beauty and depth of character is not produced inspite of your flaws, imperfections, and injuries, but rather, they ARE the direct result of your flaws, imperfections, and injuries. These things are the raw materials that the Master uses to shape His finest, most exquisite works... Destruction and creation go hand in hand...beauty from ashes. The achingly gorgeous work of restoration.
--by
Lauren
©1998
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