For the last few days I've been checking in on April, the giraffe in NY that is expecting a calf any day. The animal park has placed a webcam in her pen and the response from people all over the world has been quite surprising to them. People are thrilled to watch and wait, asking questions and tuning in for chats with the zoologists and animal caregivers. Every day people are asking "when will the baby come?" or wondering if something is wrong because progress is slow.
The gift of life causes us to pause, to be filled with wonder and hold our breath. Hundreds of thousands of people are staring at the back end of giraffe with hopes of catching a glimpse of this miracle. It may be a giraffe, but it represent so much more than that. This little camera gives us an inside view of something beautiful, something we long for these days. Without realizing it Animal Adventure Park in NY has given us all a sense of hope.
"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Repent and believe in the Good News," are two statements you may have heard today if you attended an Ash Wednesday service. Lent has arrived and we have again been given an opportunity to dig into our faith-lives, to look honestly at our connection with God and God's story of redemption for the world.
When we remember that we come from dust and will return to dust we are humbled. We realize we are a small speck in the overall picture of what God has done and continues to do. The astonishing thing in that realization is that though we are a small pile of dust we have been breathed into life by the very God of the cosmos. This is the God who wants more than our Lenten sacrifices of chocolate or diet coke. This is the God who wants all of us. I mean all of you, and all of me. No holding back the things we think God may not like, no keeping control of the things that we must do or accomplish to try and earn God's love. Ash Wednesday means we have a limited time on this earth. It means that we are all on the same playing field no matter what color our skin, which politicians we support, or who we love. It means that you are important because you are alive for such a time as this.
People watching this giraffe with me keep telling the zookeepers what they "should" be doing. They assume that what they see in this little camera is all there is, that they know more about how to deliver a baby giraffe than the vets who stand by off camera. We do the same thing with God, I think. We try to tell God our plans, how we should do things, what (S)He needs to be doing. We take things on with passion and power of our own accord only to limit the perspective of success by failing to include the Cosmic Creator.
So here I am again. My students asked me about this blog which surprised me because I am generally a failure at keeping this going. Who's to say this time it won't stick as a spiritual discipline, which can only help to keep me grounded. Time will tell, I suppose. For now, for this Lent I am going to give up control, fear of failure, and frustration. I am going to remember that what I see at any moment is like that little camera focusing on the giraffe. That in the background God has things in store that we cannot yet see or understand. I am going to choose everyday to trust in God and try to live into that relationship despite my short-comings and quirks.
Join me on this adventure. My joy is to share a bit of this journey with you, in hopes that you will share your Lent journey with me. We never know what we may encounter on this road!
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