" R o c k s o r L i f e ? "
(c) william the lesser
Just got back from a hike down to the river. (If I don't succumb to cardiac arrest before I finish, I'll try to put into words what God showed me there.)
It had been a rather steep climb down from the front porch of my cabin that was built up on the side of the mountain. I walked down next to the river at a wide and gently flowing place, but I knew that this was only a small part of a river that was many miles long and countless years old. A river that I am sure held many aspects and attributes throughout its length and life.
I was almost disappointed at how uneventful it looked at this place, but as I stepped out onto the flat rocks in the shallow water, I was surprised to see that there was life everywhere, just below the surface.
First, I noticed one and then another and then what seemed to be thousands of little black snails dotting the riverbed. In fact, I couldn't find a rock that didn't have at least one of those snails on it. And there were many other living things as well. There were what appeared to be tiny horseshoe crabs, translucent green, about the size of a shirt button, groping along on the underneath side of the stones. Tiny white clams were everywhere and little creatures that looked like scorpions were climbing all over the rocks as well. And among all this, there was some sort of green moss or fern growing up from the bottom, gently waving with the current.
I thought how exciting this same river must be up in its higher origins, where the water comes cascading down over falls and boulders and rapids, releasing its power and thunder and displaying its glory. But I am standing in the same river where it slows to a gentler pace - a pace that creates a habitat for, and supports an abundance of life.
Imagine being able to stop the flow of the water for a moment. What do you suppose you would see ?
In the place that once looked and sounded so exciting . . . rocks.
In the place that once looked and sounded so uneventful . . . life.
If you were to stop the flow of your day to day activity for a moment, what would there be ?
Rocks, or life ?
All the activity in the world doesn't necessarily mean anything of value is being accomplished. In Luke 10:38-42, there was Martha busy about the details of dinner, complaining about Mary just sitting there at Jesus' feet. But Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better thing, and that "it would never be taken from her". God bless the Martha's and the Mary's among us.
In Martha's defense, can we just sit still and never apply what we learn at the feet of the Teacher? No . . . because He commands us to go and make disciples. Maybe if we possessed Martha's hands and feet with Mary's heart. In Isaiah, God says that he is in the still, small voice. When was the last time you were quiet long enough to sit at His feet and listen ?
If we were to leave the water off in that river for too long, all of the abundance of life would soon perish. But obviously, for the sake of the living things, the gentler pace must be the better.
For the sake of your life, would a gentler pace be better ?
