Henri Nouwen said: "Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude, we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self." The false self is the persona we inhabit in our busyness, the one who interacts with others in haste under the pressure of deadlines and expectations. There is another self, an authentic self, buried underneath all that haste and pressure, who will not come out unless these is calm and safety.
Jesus, too called his disciples to " 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." (Mark 6:31) Doesn't that sound like the pace of life we face routinely? There's hardly even time for lunch, much less get decent rest.
Unfortunately, since the disruption of September 2017 (about which the interested reader can learn in previous blog posts), I have not felt the freedom to take the necessary time away to disconnect and reflect - until now. That, I think, is testimony to how much better life has become since my last post! The last time I blogged was 6 months after initially changing jobs and having a second residence seven hours away from wife and home. Not long after that post, my employer agreed to let me work one week per month from our home in Iowa, such that now I spend only 70% of my time each month up north in what we call our pied-à-terre. That, plus another 14 months on the job, and opportunities for ministry in both locations, has given us more confidence that we can sustain this arrangement until we finally light fire to our mortgage, roughly 2 1/2 years from now (God willing).
So now, more well adjusted, better acclimated and slightly less harried, here I am at a Fransiscan retreat center even further north into the lake country of Northern Wisconsin (which is roughly anything north of US Hwy 8). Still accompanied by some devotional materials and other items to read, I've had a chance to walk a bit through the rainy forests surrounding Trout Lake, and revel in the brilliance of Autumn in the North Woods. (photo evidence below.)
As I walked and marveled at this literal cathedral in the pines, I found my arms raised in praise to the One who fashioned the earth for His and our pleasure, and in Whose presence are pleasures forevermore.
From the soft yellow-green of the poplars & birches
To the russets and browns of the oaks and ferns
And the maples' spikes of orange, yellow, red
Set against the black trunks and deep piney green,
This forest is like the bush of Moses:
Aflame but not consumed!
And my heart magnifies the Name of the Lord,
Who makes every ground sacred ground by His presence.
