Tag Archives: spiritual journeys

You Are A Miracle: Reflections on Existence and Purpose

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I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but: You. Are. A. Miracle. A scientifically bonafide miracle. I know this because many, many moons ago when I was in university, my anatomy professor gave a very sobering lecture about human reproduction. Did you know that the percentage of actual, “normal” human beings born is 34%. That’s before birth. Thirty four out of 100 “good eggs” develop to 40 ish weeks. Then there is that tumultuous day that we celebrate every year called your birth day. If you make it through that, there is about a 31% chance you come out relatively ready to face the world… and from there… well, let’s just say, if you have survived this long and are reading this post: You are a miracle!

You. Are. A.Miracle.

I was musing about this at a baby shower held in honour of my beloved daughter-in-law. She is about three weeks out from giving us our first grand baby! We are excited, of course, but becoming a grandparent for the first time makes you reflect on mortality, your own legacy, and well, the miracle of life itself. It’s fragile. It’s vulnerable. It’s oh so special. Yet, most of us take it for granted. We shop for cute little onesies at Walmart and complain about the cost of diapers. The world is overpopulated. We can all agree that there are some people who should just simply not be parents. Others who deserve to be and can not. People have suffered and are suffering. This broken world is not what God designed. It begs the question: Should we be concerned at each individual life and focus on its tenuous existence?

My own views on mortality and life are complicated and not for debate today. I’ve had my share of death and understand the significance of life. I’m discovering rural farmers have a view of life that, shall we say, is practical and perhaps more matter of fact. Philosophers will have a different view. Christian worldview with belief in a Creator God? Their discussion will different from the atheist’s. As I said, it’s simply another muse I’m putting out there for reflection. A potential for thought and discussion. Go where you wish with it. Let’s just say, I don’t think God makes mistakes. He has a plan and your life is a significant part of it.

We are each a significant part of God’s Plan

Christmas is quickly approaching and I cannot help but think of Mary. Unwed teenager, pregnant, but she claims not by her betrothed. First time mom gives birth in barn. Believe me, I have a barn, it would not be my first choice. You tube worthy story, for sure. Yet, here too, God had a plan, and Mary’s life was a significant part of it. Why have baby Jesus come to Earth as a vulnerable baby? Helpless and fragile? Utterly human and at risk for all that humanity has to offer. Would not have been my choice either… but then again, I’m not God, am I?

And so we have come full circle back to my original thought: You are a miracle. Significantly created and planned for by the ultimate Creator. Designed and destined for greatness… or at least some role in His ultimate plan for humankind. He knows we are but dust. And yet, He loves us beyond measure. Perhaps this is why He gives us babies…. and grand babies. To remind us that we are miracles designed just the way He planned for just the role He planned. I hope this thought makes you smile today… because you are worthy.

The Lessons of Psalm 1

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I was prompted this week to write a post on Psalm 1. I have no idea why. Perhaps somewhere out there someone needs to hear my rantings. This is not the usual way I begin musing about something. Often, an event happens here at the farm, or I hear or watch a video or talk about a verse or passage and it makes me think of something. Writers tend to have a plan… or at least a little inspiration. A creative venue for ideas to be born and flourish. A connection. Something to make you say…”Hmmnnn, I wonder”. For some reason, this week didn’t turn out that way… but I am going with it anyway.

In case you need a refresher, here is Psalm 1 in it’s entirety:

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

At first, I tried to find something within the verses to comment on. A thought, a “word from the Lord”, a deeper meaning. I’m stuck as to how to do this. Is it political? An election is happening in the USA… lots of controversy there. Do I make a comment on “sitting in the ways of the wicked?” Not my thing… nor my place. Do I take instruction from the “meditate day and night” part? True and encouraging statement. Still not where I am feeling it.

Obviously, out here in the rural Ontario rolling hills, there are a lot of trees. And at this time of year, the trees are withering. Fruit has been harvested, the season is over, and all the leaves have died and fallen to the ground. The hills are alive with the colour of not fruit, but death. Even the ones planted by the water! The chaff that the wind dries and blows away is all that’s left. I don’t get it either. The streams are getting ready to freeze over. My world right now is not the picturesque stream with weeping willows full of leaves and a sanctuary for all who find shelter underneath it’s full branches. All I see is dried up crunchy leaves and cold water surrounded by parched branches.

So, I’m sorry. Perhaps this was not one of my better posts. It’s not funny, or informative, or enlightening. It simply is. I have put it out there. Wrote it in black and white with every intention of being obedient to a prompting. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe we have been instructed to take a moment of “stillness”. There is plenty to unpack in these few verses. Many a preacher would spend an entire series of messages on council, meditation, being planted, fruit, prosperity, judgement, righteousness, and delighting in the Lord. And yet, I am not.

Maybe my role for this week is simply to post the words. Let the chips fall where they may. Remind you (and me) that the words are there. The leaves are there. They have piled up in wait for a new season of growth later. The streams of living water still has trees planted nearby. The wicked are still out there – in droves. We still need to meditate and understand that judgement is coming. And so, I have done my part. I posted it.

It’s your job to read it and muse in your own way this week, my friend. Gather your own thoughts and inspiration. Why not comment and let me know… what do you think?

The Beauty of Harvest Season: Lessons from Nature

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How many times have you heard or seen this verse? Especially around this time of year as the days grow shorter and the sun goes to bed earlier. Canadian thanksgiving has past and our turkey comas are subsiding. Harvest is upon us. Yet, I never fully understood it until we moved out to a more rural landscape.

Every morning as I drive in to work, the golden sun is just beginning to peak above the horizon. I’m a nighthawk by nature, but I am beginning to love the morning sunrise. The colours are fabulous, and as the dew and misty morning fog gets burned off by the early sun, it truly is a fabulous drive in to town. Along the route, I meander over the hills and valleys and the farmer’s fields all blend together with hues of brown, golds and yellows. Farm stands are filled with the last few sunflowers and wagons of squash and pumpkins add to the landscape with pops of orange. It even smells like “earth”. Technically, I suppose everything is dying… yet it is alive somehow with the change of season.

Now I certainly don’t claim to understand “the harvest”. On our drives, we marvel that some fields have already been clear cut to the ground. Others are still drying out and looking very sad up close. Our nearest neighbourhood farmer had half of his field cut … the other half sitting dormant for what seemed like days. We didn’t understand. Did he just get tired half way through? Did the machinery die? Did he get called in for an emergency? Or simply get hungry and gave up on his work in hopes for a leftover turkey sandwich? A few days later … the field was all clear. Seemingly worked on by fairy farmers in the middle of the night.

Speaking of the middle of the night, we have seen the giant headlights of monster machines working into the darkness (okay, darkness might be 7:00pm nowadays, but still.) So. What’s the deal? I have come to understand that harvesting of field crops: hay, corn, soy etc. are specialized feats of proper timing. First hay cutting and second hay have to be done dry, at certain temperatures to survive rolling into those big hay bales without molding. Soy beans are practically dead … shriveled into loose pea pods so they can be easily shaken out of their crispy casings and loaded into the harvester. Silage corn is also dry as a bone. No sweet juicy corn for the cows. Corn meal gets blown into those silos. It’s a wonder cows like it. Blech.

And the backyard farmer? Homesteaders with plots of veggies and flowers? That’s a whole other adventure. Our own garden was a disaster. The weeds took over and took over fast and furious. We chalked it up to an experiment gone wrong and just let it go. My kale is now five feet high and has all gone to seed. We did manage a few small pumpkins and some yellow cucumber like things? Plant pumpkins people… those things will grow anywhere. Vines are resilient. The other cucumber things? Not even sure what they started out as? Roald Dahl’s BFG fans will certainly label them as “snozzcumbers”. Slimy, but satisfying. I’m sad my strawberry plants are buried under there somewhere. There’s always next year, I suppose.

And so, we return to my muse about the verse in the gospels. Farmer’s fields are Huge. Backyard gardens are a lot of work. Trial and error have developed into perfect timing over the years to create “agricultural science”. Specific machines and gadgets that help with this or that. Measuring devices for moisture measuring for peak harvest timing. And then the labour. I don’t think a single farmer can harvest acres and acres on his own. Are their groups for these things? I suspect they share equipment. No one family can purchase those mortgage breaking pieces of machinery and survive can they? It has to be a group effort.

Snozzcumber anyone??

Which makes me think about the point Jesus is making in the verse… those plants grow full and expansive and wide on their own. The world we live in contains vast numbers of hurting, helpless people just trying to survive. No one has to “cultivate” wild weeds. They are doing just fine out there … in fact, they are flourishing. Pumpkins grow in the compost pile. Fed by the manure. Can you imagine what would happen if people took the time to truly cultivate the world around us? To nurture and feed and encourage one another to fully grow and bloom where we are planted?

There are plenty of people who need our love. Plenty of people who need God’s love and guidance. The fields are limitless. The weeds are thick. Those of us who are trying to do good in the world and live by His principles are few. Our task is hard. There are no fringe benefits. Only the fruit we collect. We go out into the pasture like “sheep among the wolves” (we’ve learned about predators out here too… they are quiet and sneaky and hide among the shadows…). So, please, encourage your fellow workers. Lend your expertise. Share your equipment. Put in the hours. Volunteer your time to be there when the time is right. It’s not an easy job…. but it is worth it. When your storehouses are full and you have an abundance of joy for when winter hits … your efforts will be rewarded with the peace that you can make it though the ‘leaner’ times in life.

I can drive up and down the hills every morning and marvel at the fields ready for harvest… and think how beautiful they are. Yet, I must remember to pray for more workers to do the hard stuff… and encourage those who are trying. For they are few and far between. And if you are one who is out there driving the tractors late at night: thank you. I’ll meet you at the compost pile for a snozzcumber snack.