From a tropical rainforest bubbling with exotic birdsong,
insect hums and buzzes, and heat, into a silent winter landscape white and
clear and fresh and popping with hungry birds taking turns at the bird feeders:
half a world away in the space of twenty-four hours.
We were speaking with one of the air crew on the flight to
Dubai. On learning he was Egyptian, Don used his Egyptian words still
remembered from half a century ago. The steward was blown away and immediately
ordered a couple of glasses of fizz, some pistachio and date pastries and
delectable chocolates (no doubt ordinary fare in first class…). He shared that
he lives with his family in Dubai: a clear case of taking someone from their
home country, but that not equating with removing the home country from the
person’s heart.
Google has just informed me that over the last year, I
travelled round the globe one and a half times. I am sorry for the carbon
footprint I have left, but grateful for the opportunities to be with those so
dear to me.
It’s natural to be distracted by the geography in which I
and my loved ones live, but having just listened to a remarkable talk by Tim
Mackie ( https://youtu.be/HQIH-WfmZms?si=oXMFILPi7vASqe4J
), as a Jesus-follower my resolution for the rest of my life is to settle into
the eternal geography of the one who is with, and in, all things, and to live
every moment with my footprint in Paradise. The reality is as Paul wrote, that
in Jesus I live and move and have my being.
May this be a new year of spiritual awakening and growth, of
a deeper awareness of the reality in which I live. For those others who have listened
to the Tim Mackie talk, I want the huckleberries to be staining my teeth, too …
No comments:
Post a Comment