The First Four Days

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge...
Psalm 19:1-2

The past few days have been full of serenity, silence, and lots of beauty. I don't know if I used to take all this for granted, but out here the God seems nearer. The wind rustling tree leaves remind me of his divine breath that sustains us. The crimson stains on purple canvassed clouds at sunset speak of his passionate love for mankind that required the Son to die. The expanse of the sky, which is not so overwhelming in Boston, but which, here, cannot be captured from horizon to horizon in one glance, also say that His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways. His patterns of order and symmetry are traced onto every leaf, blade of grass, and groove of bark.

I haven't taken vacation in a long time, so these past few days have required a readjustment in many ways. When you are constantly surrounded with other people, noises of the city, and tasks to do, you never have to learn to be alone. When all that goes away, you are left with just your own thoughts-- and they become louder. When you finally lay those aside, you're left with just seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, remembering, and meditating. It's in that place that, perhaps, you become more receptive to that still, small voice. I've been learning about solitude as a discipline, through reading Richard Foster's chapter on Solitude in Celebration of Discipline. For me, this has meant taking walks, sitting in silence, carrying a memorized portion of scripture throughout the day, and just taking my time getting from one place to another... Not having a schedule or any appointments, meetings, and commitments to be at is very different. It gives me more time to just be still and know that He is God.


Part of this break involves lots of fishing. Here I am in my full gear. Notice the stylish Tilley Hat given to me for just this occasion by two very good friends from home. While I can't wear this kind of thing in Boston, it's perfect for fishing and gardening (rated SPF 40!) I have not yet caught any fish, except for this gross looking one, below. It doesn't count, since it's not a trout, unfortunately. Tonight, I had two trout on a line, but I did not set the hook properly and they got away, sadly. In any case, more updates to come soon.

Death of a Passport

The school year has wrapped up, much to my relief. For the first time in a long time, I am now in true vacation mode. Project Destiny is about to start, so please pray for them. Meanwhile, I'll be using the blog for the next month or so to update folks on my "Sabbatical" from youth ministry and other responsibilities. I am in Middlebury, Vermont for the next 6 weeks-- I arrived yesterday. It's silent here, like a monastery; but I am becoming acclimated to the solitude.


Here's an excerpt from my journal yesterday about the loss of my Honda and how I arrived in Middlebury at last:

...so I headed towards Vermont, knowing all I was leaving behind and much of what awaited me. Or so I thought. In Grantham, NH, the Honda began to sputter. As soon as I exited the I 89 and slowed down, the engine ground to a halt. I lost all power and barely was able to apply the brakes before hitting the perpendicular street. Apparently my car was on fire. A woman happened to pull up behind me and called for a state trooper, who arrived within seconds. He gave my car a shove towards an auto-repair, which happened to be less than 10 seconds away.

After arriving at the garage, I was told that the Passport was, for all intents and purposes, dead. The water-pump had blown and caused all sorts of heat damage to the engine block, possibly cracking a piston. The parts of the engine block had melted from the fire. “$700 just to see if the car will run,” she said. “And we can’t fix it today.”

I pondered the possibility of camping out in my Passport for a few nights while the car was fixed. I could have done it, but when one of the lead mechanics expressed severe doubt that the engine would ever start again, I knew I’d have to abandon my once-faithful steed. I called my father, who owns the car, and both my parents decided to come right away to pick up me and my stuff. Meanwhile, Deb, the manager, offered to take the Passport off of my hands for a $125 payment, which I decided was a good deal considering everything that had happened and all the services her garage had given me. So, all that was left to do was for me to wait 3 hours while watching minnows in a nearby stream and reading Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline.

When my parents finally arrived, I had been praying that it would be an opportunity for them to be good to one another. It appeared as if God had listened to that prayer. They were in a very good mood. For a little while, we thought out loud with one another about our options. They both finally agreed with me. What surprised me the most was they also wanted me to take my mom’s Rav4 and continue to Vermont! I tried to resist, but they insisted so unitedly that I had to just humbly accept their offer.

Perhaps God used this as an opportunity to help me appreciate my parents more. But then again, God did a lot of things that also turned this tough situation into a gift. He made sure I stalled at the best possible place and at a time when I was not in a hurry to be somewhere important. He brought along that lady who called the trooper. He helped me to stay calm and full of peace in a potentially stressful scenario. So in the end, I definitely praise the Lord for his providence and sovereignty in situations where I might not be sure of why things are happening.