The Waterfall

I needed to get away. We all have those days. I left my cell phone in my car. Email would have to wait for another day. So would this column, this week’s sermon, advance planning, pastoral care, leadership, and administration. 

Go away by yourself to a desolate place and rest a while. –Mark 6:31 

I laced up some old trail running shoes. The leftover mud on the shoes was a few months old. Long shorts and an old t-shirt were the clothes for the morning. I filled my water bottle mostly with ice and a little water. The ice would melt soon enough. I got in my dirty black car and drove to the park. A sports radio show was on. I turned it off. Somehow two guys overanalyzing the hows and whys of Nebraska’s quarterback throwing too many interceptions just didn’t really matter to me. 

It was a beautiful morning. The morning sun reflecting off the yellow and red leaves were God’s canvas. Monet and Van Gogh and Audubon on their best day never came close to this. The fallen leaves covered the crusty dirt trail. They also covered the tree roots and rocks. I shared the forest with a few deer and a group of wild turkeys. They were seeking food for their stomachs. I was seeking food for my soul.

Photo by Tim Wright
http://www.redbubble.com/people/bobst1080

After about 90 minutes of running the ice was melted and the water in the bottle was gone. A few scrapes existed on my right wrist and right knee from an encounter with a tree root. The shirt was sweaty in the upper back. I opened the door of the dirty car, removed my Bible and journal, and walked down a steep hill to a bench overlooking a small waterfall. 

I opened the Bible. I read Psalm 42. No particular reason. It is just where I landed. I wrote part of the text in my own words: 

When I am sad or stressed or tired or tense, I remember you. 

The depths of my heart call to depths of your heart. 

The waterfall makes smooth the jagged rock.

Each day God showers His love on my imperfect heart and changes it. 

There is something about a waterfall. It overcomes obstacles with brawn and beauty. It is simultaneously peaceful and powerful. It is as delightful as it is determined. It takes a coarse rock and over time makes it as smooth as silk. Maybe the ordinary waterfall is so exceptional because it is like God: peaceful, powerful, beautiful, different, and transforming. 

The sight and then the sound of the waterfall faded in the distance. I walked up the hill to the dirty black car. And I remembered God’s words to Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” –Exodus 33:14 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig