The Narrow Gate: Day 69 – Respite in God's Resplendent Nature

The Narrow Gate

Welcome to the continuation of my blog, post-seminary. Ministry and evangelism have brought me back home to Chattanooga. I welcome your company on my journey.

The original blog, Down In Mississippi, shared stories from 2008 and 2009 of the hope and determination of people in the face of disaster wrought by the hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, of work done primarily by volunteers from churches across America and with financial support of many aid agencies and private donations and the Church. My Mississippi posts really ended with the post of August 16, 2009. Much work, especially for the neediest, remained undone after the denominational church pulled out. Such is the nature of institutions. The world still needs your hands for a hand up. I commend to you my seven stories, Down in Mississippi I -VII, at the bottom of this page and the blog posts. They describe an experience of grace.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Day 69 – Respite in God's Resplendent Nature

An important part of this job is “decompression.” This means for most an enforced period when we remove ourselves, both mind and body, from the daily press of this job. It is a time to refresh and take care of our stress level.

I thought this was an unnecessary thing to do, after all, I’ve worked hard at my jobs all my life. But, I’ve found this is a different kind of job.

It is a job that you can easily get to the point you feel every minute you spend away from it is stealing from someone who is on the edge of despair. If one does not get away from that pressure once in a while to take care of the “caregiver” one risks severe burnout and low productivity.

The day before yesterday we conducted an orientation for our new staff volunteers, and today we took care of ourselves, we ran away for seven hours to Ship Island, a forty-five minute ferry ride south of Gulfport.

West Ship Island is a thin sandy barrier island absent any natural shade from the sun save the night. It is not more than 400 - 500 yards across for the most part, elsewhere it is cut into parts by high tide in places, and its eastern and western terminus is washed by rip tides. Its sand west end is moving slowlys, shifting the island every so slightly eastwards day by day. Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula sit low on the shore to the north.

I like the beach. Sufficiently covered with sunscreen and a good hat (thanks to my wonderful staff at Steward Environmental Solutions), I always have camera in hand searching for the randomly encountered acts of God that impart beauty to the least parts of nature.

Today that search found competition. Here follows a pictorial essay, first one on God’s beauty and then Man’s stewardship of it. You decide how well we exercise that stewardship.

And God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image." ( Gen. 1:26-27, RSV)

For the beauty of the Earth...

(click on photograph for large view)
Plant or animal?

Flowers in Sand

Patterns in Beach Sand 1

Driftwood 1

Driftwood 2

Driftwood 3

Sand Crab Diggings

Stay away from our nest!

Seaborne Walnut

Patterns in Beach Sand 2

Driftwood 4

Passing of Time 1

Passing of Time 2

Hat

Shampoo

Fishnet

Chicken Livers

Bear our Load

Cheers 1!

Fault!

Child's Play

Litter

Decoy

Television

Cheers 2!

Cheers 3!

Please be kind to Mother Nature.

No comments:

Gates

The gate pervades the Good News. Peter entered the temple gate after the Jesus’ arrest to deny him. Poor Lazarus lay at the rich man's gate, longing for the crumb's from the table, while dogs licked his sores. The blind, lame and paralyzed lay at the Sheep Gate at the Jerusalem temple waiting at the pool with five porticoes for healing water. Jesus warned of the easy road and wide gate to material ease and spiritual destruction and calls us to the hard road and narrow gate to the waters of life.

necessary disclaimer

This blog is created solely to communicate to my brothers and sisters how one person sees adversity bringing out the greater character of humanity. It's early part relating connection to the volunteer relief effort in Mississippi after Katrina and later work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program and the Presbyterian Church(USA) is solely through my participation in them; this blog does not carry any sponsorship from these fine organizations or purport to speak for them. All original content is that of the writer who holds the copyright to all original writings and art or other works (See Creative Commons License above). Every effort is made to identify content from other sources which have been obtained from open internet sources. It's more recent content contains sermons and lessons used in preaching and teaching. The url to scripture are obtained via http://bible.oremus.org unless otherwise indicated.

Texts quoted from oremus bible viewer are from "New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved." and "New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."