It has been said that time flies when you are having fun.
Delighted by the plentiful waterfowl, sea shells, and sunshine, the time is
flying by with many family and friends visiting and enjoying some time here on
Pine Island, what I call a zoo without cages.
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| Great Egret coming to check out what we are cooking on the grill. |
A recent kayak outing provided great opportunity for healing when I
discovered we were lost out in the mangroves. The GPS showed clearly where we were, but
there was absolutely no visible way back to the main canal. My Michigan skin had already
met its tolerance for exposure to the hot tropical sun. I was suddenly transported back to the time I was
alone in Europe. I had no Euros, and I did not know where I was. I could not find the woman I had been traveling with.
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| Blue is the water ways we were on. |
Sounding much more calm than my insides felt, I said to
my companion, “We are lost. I am trying not to panic, but Google Maps cannot show us how to get out.” I handed him my phone.
I knew I did not feel
confident to get us out. Everything we could see looked alike. I forced myself to remember that I had survived the Europe
experience. I could feel tremendous fear
both present and past.
We had come through an opening in the mangroves where we
had to duck down. Had the tide risen sufficiently that we would be unable to
get through, or just enough we would not be able to see the opening?
While I did
believe we would survive, I imagined a helicopter having to come get us after days of exposure.
How similar is all of this to the larger schema of what is
happening to human beings and planet earth? Have we lost our way and are we
panicking because we are afraid of what we might yet encounter?
This morning, reading the book by Matt Kahn (Whatever Arises, Love That) in which he encourages
you to love whatever arises, I am drawn to this sentence: “No matter
how closed off you feel or how shut down you seem to be, it is your willingness
to love that reminds you how safe you’ve always been.”
I am willing to love. I suspect we all are. We did get out of the mangroves, and we got home in time for lunch! The
only visible injuries I encountered were some sunburned knees.
As my knees have recovered, I am deeply appreciating the reality that if we have always been safe, we will always
be safe as well.Thanks be to God. Let's all join Matt Kahn for what he calls "A Love Revolution That Begins with You."
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| Here is my happy face selfie, taken when we were back in the canal! |
