Reflection

It was a privilege to be in this place
when I took this photo of a creek in 
eastern washington.

In reflecting lately, and how can you avoid reflection in this season of penance and rejoicing? In certain things I have improved and gained certain victories, and in other aspects, I did not, let us say.

Of the positive outcome, I am certain. Of other aspects, I am not so sure. One thing seems to be certain, and that is things are not very clear. The obfuscation is resultant from things beyond our control.

The instinct is to preserve what is shown to be irrefutably right and good, and to reject what is obviously speculative and untried. There are dangers in both directions. Like the island of Iceland, now being torn apart by sea floor spreading, nothing is standing still. But excessive rigidity threatens our peace of mind as much as throwing away everything including the baby in the bath water. 

Beyond a certain point, parents discard the diapers and rubber pants, to try potty training their child. The delicate act of encouraging and discouraging must be full of love to work. The rewards are great. It is a lot less work and bother to have a child gain control of body functions. That is a good thing, but it was unavoidable to have a child pooping in his diapers, and necessary; just as necessary as for an adult. but the adult knows where to go and what to do when the time comes for evacuation of the bowels.

The modern times produced disposable diapers, whereas, in the past, diapers were put in a diaper pail full of bleach water and were rinsed  clean later then there was time.

We need the ability to judge our actions in the light of God. Even for someone who rejects God, a person  needs to look at where they have been and to decide where they are going, and I submit, that it is impossible to get anywhere without God. So what if He imposes restraints on us? It is better for us to be restrained than to get killed by our indiscretion. And in time, a child restrained recognizes that it was a good thing to have been restrained so as to avoid injury.

Pain has an indispensable part to play in learning, although, pleasure has a role to play as well. How much we gain from one another when we learn from one another, and to give way mutually.

What a great matter it is when we learn to do what is right and good, and choose to live that way, rather than to embrace the path of personal pleasure in everything. We gain a great deal by our abilities, especially, to learn to love others even at the cost of pain to ourselves. 

It is a great thing to refrain from displeasing God and others, even loved ones. It may seem unnecessary whilst we lack context by which to judge, a viewpoint only gained by time and distance. When we begin to love Him, He blots out all the rest with love, filling our whole horizon, as it were, in every direction, and reassurance rises from our be-ing, and God overflows into us with delight and bliss.

Regardless how infrequently that may be, the delight is so intense that it can outweigh all else. Then we must love Him even more, in order to love Him more than ourselves or even our pleasure at having tasted His bliss again. One cannot be happy otherwise.

If we only arrive at the moment of divine pleasure and stop growing or changing, we have been suffocated by ourselves, and we won't last long that way, for there is a blessing in breathing cool, clean air again.

A new year presents itself, with all the changes and variations in the theme of our living. Some of these things will undoubtedly be painful and unpleasant. Not to worry, it is all under His supervision and in His care.

We can be part of the happiness of others if we choose to do the things that will make them happy. The sounds of love don't just happen, you have to make them :) What sensation did it bring you when you saw someone troubled, smile? Surely there was pleasure in helping? Sometimes we get the chance, and we certainly can pray for opportunities. 

It had been written that Jesus, on the cross, would drink wine one last time, and it happened just before His death, so that He Himself could proclaim that it had been done, and finally all things required had been accomplished. We share in that moment too, from time to time.