Last week, we visited some of the darkest skies in Colorado. I listened as a bull chuffed at me, the coyote yipped and far in the distance the elk bugled into the night. It was a celebration of the sky. It’s those sort of experiences that draw me outside. We forget a lot of the time that we belong out there tracking the day and night, living with the season’s of life, remaining open to opportunity. The sky reminds me why I’m human…so I can actually enjoy it all. It’s a journey. This sky was a highlight.
Got out to take in some very dark skies. There is something so satisfying about sitting under the stars. The world is quiet but not asleep. Coyote and elk make sound their game. The calm seeps in and there is an awareness…a feeling of something bigger. And yet we remain so small. Most folks have never seen the Milky Way, lost in the blue light of their screens. And it’s so much better than TV. Let nature and the sky lure you back outside.
Gold was found in this cold, mountain stream near this spot in 1867. If you look in the stream of your life, I know there’s gold in abundance. Look to the quiet places where it settles.
tried to take a shortcut and got sent around the long way
I find myself unsettled by this image. It’s chaotic. It’s tumbled. The light is everywhere. My eye is drawn to a million little swirls. It’s in motion; even as a photo. It’s not peaceful but I find it comfortable. It’s life right now.
I like this comparison. Things are on edge. And it reminds me that the world is everchanging. We would like so much to just relax and be at peace. I find myself longing for such things while at the same time realizing that it will never come. So should I live in a perpetual state of waiting for a future that will never occur? I’ve thought about this often. I think about how life moves so quick when I’m anticipating tomorrow. Time moves much too fast in the future. I’ll do this when that happens. I’ll travel when I have more money. I’ll take a vacation when all my work is caught up. I’ll write after I finish this. I’m tired, I’ll take photos when the weather is clear.
Last night I thought the weather would clear for some comet and moon hunting. The Moon was a beautiful crescent with amazing earthglow. This was while I was driving but by the time I got to my shooting destination, the clouds had crowded in. It never got any better. And I found myself OK with that situation. I tried. I got out there to do a thing.
Life is in motion. I realize that. I acknowledge that. I sit and enjoy all the little swirls; the tiny details. And I relish in that attention to detail. The world seems to be on fire right now and in the middle of all of that…in the little moments…there is incredible beauty. There is an order to things. In all the worldly disorder, I find that in my day to day things are just fine.
I stay on the path. I fight the good fight. I am at peace. I see waves crashing; hair on fire. I see a surface in agitation with wind patterns showing this and that. And me, just below the surface, I’m in flow. It’s the only place I can be.
I followed a fence row,
a starry lit path
and ended up walking
into infinity.
And the sky became like sparks
from a faraway fire.
Lit from a million suns,
the smoke drifted up the sky
On the gust of wind,
I could hear the whisper of drums beating out lost stories
of a simpler, magical time
Creator God,
You are here. Thank you for your bountiful provision; for providing a safe place to gather and worship; for bringing together your church. I need to leave behind the tumultuous week. I need to leave the world and rest in your love, free of burdens and worry. For a moment, today, I pray we can release the shackles of the everyday and revel in your glory. You know our hearts. Calm our minds for you sent Your son to walk with us, to teach us and to die for us to free us. Thank you for Your grace. Renew our spirits, recenter us to your love through song and story and remind us that we have a place with you forever.
Amen
