Roots

Along Rachel Carson National Wildlife Reserve, Moody, Maine

Through years of hurricanes, blizzards, floods, blistering heat, bone-chilling cold, and many joyfully beautiful days stands this familiar, solitary little pine tree on Bourne Avenue on the way to Moody beach. As many times as I pass it, like one morning this week, I marvel that it’s still there.

I think it is still there in the middle of the marsh only because ...

It has grown deep roots under stress Bends but refuses to break And still bears fruit of pine cones as it grows older It never gives in It stands strong even when standing alone …

I think I’ll frame this one.

God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:

    When you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,

When you avoid sin’s highway,

    When judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.

For you, the Word is your happiness.

    It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.

You are like a tree,

    Planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.

Your fruit ripens in its time;

    Your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.

No matter what you do, you prosper.—Psalm 1:1-3, The Voice

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For vitamins beyond Sunday, see the Day Starter morning devotionals on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/renewchurchhancock

Moon Gaze

Night hands off to day at Cunningham Pond.

“His kingdom will last before Me like the sun. It will continue forever, like the moon, like a dependable, reliable, faithful witness in the sky.”—Psalm 89:36-37

A favorite local author from childhood, the late Elizabeth Yates, once said of the early morning: “The silence is so intense that the striking of a distant clock comes into it like sounds from another world. How bright the stars are! How still the trees! Neither branches nor leaves are in motion. Everything seems to be waiting for something to happen. It is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin…”

If you’ve ever gotten up that early, you feel those words as your own. Because no matter what the season, one of the best things about waking up early is to be in that moment of intense stillness when night hands off the baton to day. Dark becomes light again. Another relay race is on! And there to cheer on the moment every time is the moon. Sometimes, it’s right in your face. Sometimes, it's a fingernail way up high. And sometimes, it’s to the left or to the right of where it was a few days ago, but it’s always, always there, making its comforting presence known.

The psalmist, who spent a lot of time outdoors, tells us something more—that God Himself is faithful, just like that moon. And it doesn’t have to be night becoming morning to see and receive that truth. Because on this new day, whether cloudy or sunny, it’s good to know that the Creator of heaven and earth is a type-and-shadow of that “dependable, reliable, faithful witness in the sky” whose kingdom still reigns beyond the blue or gray or storminess of all that we can see or feel. He’s got this.

Because just like the moon shines in winter, spring, summer and fall, faithful means God never goes away on vacation or leaves us to figure things out for ourselves. Better still, seeing the moon up there is a constant reminder that though we stumble often, doubt frequently, and rebel without even realizing it, God remains faithful to His Almightyness, His promises, and His name, without a hint of wavering...

His love toward us never quits, whether we feel it or not. It’s always reaching out, like a beam across the pond.

...And like the moon—sometimes appearing to be full in our heart, sometimes feeling distant and thin, but always present regardless of circumstance—God is tirelessly, joyfully, faithfully reflecting the goodness of all that He is in a world gone mad. His love. His mercy. His compassion. His grace… to any and all who will simply look Up and believe that the beautiful moon in the sky is much more than just a faithful moon. To be still and know that…

“He is perfectly faithful, because God is never partly anything.”—A. W. Tozer

Still Life

Under the bridge at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Moody, ME

As with most weeks, this one was filled with lots of noise…. The sounds of athletes and crowds at games, and the waves crashing at the seashore, were fun. The sounds of miles of crazy traffic on highways and the non-stop noise of scattered thoughts looking for resolution were not. Which is why this may have been my favorite photo of the week. It was a picture of what Elijah experienced when he longed to hear from God:

“Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire… there was the soft whisper of a voice.”—1 Kings 19:11-12

Likewise, it’s easy to forget (and important to remember) that when the psalmist penned the much-loved words, “Be still and know that I Am God” (Psalm 46:10), it was in an atmosphere of a lot of noise.

Stillness is beautiful. Stillness is vital to the soul. But like Elijah and the psalmist, we often have to fight through all the noise to get there.

Even when you (me) want to capture all the noise, excitement, atmosphere and action of a game, the real beauty is looking at the stillness of the photos afterwards. In the screaming silence, you see details and facial expressions of hurt, frustration, determination and joy that simply zipped by in the moment. You see people. You notice what’s important.

It's not unlike this photo, too, when the roaring Atlantic tide comes to a screeching, mirror-like halt in the marshland. Because when you stop and look carefully, you notice not just a reflection but one of heaven on earth. Just as God desires it.

And so three captions of wisdom for the “favorite photo of the week,” from fellow travelers who’ve gone before…

Videos, reels and movies are fun, but… "Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”—Dorothea Lange

“Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives; room too, for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it.”—Saint Augustine

“Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.”

—Amy Carmichael

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For vitamins beyond Sunday, see the Day Starter morning devotionals on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/renewchurchhancock

Beauty In the Routine

Just before sunrise this morning at Cunningham Pond.

On a morning like this, I will look at my praying hands clasped around a coffee mug.
Praying…among other things, to see the beauty in the routine of things.
Celebrating fullness of life and activity, yes,

But remembering to celebrate chill-out simplicity, too.

Because it is often here where God speaks loudest, and where it is easier to listen.

Like today, before sunrise at a nearby lake when the world was still asleep.

But all of Creation—loons, songbirds, a gentle breeze making new leaves dance—was full-throated in being thankful for a new day.

And so should I.

And so I did.

And to also remember those praying hands clasped around a coffee mug—

That God had planned to put things in our hands since before the beginning of time that would bring pleasure to both of us, and others.

Even (and maybe especially) in the routine...

A camera…to see new angles of Creation and reflections of the "Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1) in everyday faces and places.

Two different kinds of keyboards with the same purpose…to find words and notes that encourage and point Up.

A kayak paddle…to “be still and know” (Psalm 46:10) when all around is 24/7 noise.

A basketball and a baseball bat…to run free, to jump, to remember joy, and to know that celebration and life mission are always better with teammates.

Freshly tilled soil after a long winter…maybe as a subconscious assurance that no matter how things look, "the whole earth is still full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3)

Like today, like before sunrise at a nearby lake when the world was still asleep.

But to also remember to then loosen the grip of those praying hands around my coffee mug,

And ask them a daily question:

“Are there different ways to do what you’ve always done to help someone—even yourself—see or feel the goodness of God, even on a routine kind of day?”

And to know that there is only one good answer.

“Morning is had hand. Light will soon come flowing over the edge of the world, bringing with it the day. What a gift! Whether wrapped in streams of color or folded in tissues of mist, it will be mine to use in ways that I can foresee and in those that are unexpected. The day will make its own revelation, bring its own challenge; my part will be to respond with joy and readiness.”—Elizabeth Yates, “A Book of Hours”