Kits Beach, Vancouver

Every so often, a day like today comes, where I am reminded that life really isn’t that complicated. I think I have a tendency of focusing so much on the decisions I have to make in front of me, that I think the rest of the world is disharmonious, when in reality, perhaps it is I who has fallen out of step with it.

I went for a quick run after work today in my neighbourhood. It was 8 degrees outside and the clouds opened up to allow a slight drizzle, the kind that kisses you with a touch both soft and refreshing to the skin. There’s a tiny stream that runs down the hill in the area, which eventually collects and feeds into Brunette River. Growing up, I played in the streams, fascinated by waterfalls and the like after seeing the majestic powers of Niagara Falls when I was eight. It’s been a while since I had visited this said stream, so when I innocently ran past one portion of it today, I was struck by the winding path of the stream. It reminded me of a winding road.

Life is no longer as straight and narrow as I once thought it was. There is this song by Jars of Clay called “This Road” and it talks about how the Christian life is the “straight and narrow”. Every since then, I held the view that life would be just that, straight and narrow, black and white. Gazing at the stream, thinking about it, I realize that maybe that is not what the author meant at all, that it is not the correct image at all.

Life comes with its twists and turns. What caught my eye about the stream was how beautiful it was, how the S-bends carved into the ground were shaped so perfectly, as if they were created to be exactly that way. When the song says that the road is straight and narrow, maybe it doesn’t mean that there are no bends, no twists and turns. After all, it’s not like our eighty-some years are a direct line from point A to point B. Accidents fall, miracles are born, life happens. I think it just means that our vision must be straight, and that ground we trot upon is narrow – as we trod and navigate through the twists and turns.

Looking back at my own little entourage of S-bends in life, many things have fit into place, where I never imagined and didn’t even know would fit into place. I remember filling out a form every year for “career and personal development” in high school. I remember filling in the boxes listing my five and ten year goals with something like “going to university” and “getting married”. Well, university is ending and here I am, arms open waiting, with empty boxes to fill once again. More twists and turns.

My prayer is that the pieces will continue to fall, as I continue to live, with the fear of God that compels me. I received a letter and another photo from Israel today, my sponsor child from Tanzania. What a beautiful country. With the real wisdom of a child, Israel shared with me a verse found in Proverbs 1:7. It says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Paraphrased, it's like acknowledging and following God is the starting point of being skillful in living. This is a famous proverb, and often preached. It just seemed different when I heard it today...I guess that's because it's my own message of love from across the world.