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Friday, January 17, 2014

The Mirror in the Sea

Only one author has made me feel sorry for his heart.

He lamented the rate Earth loses ground, trees, species and seems to be especially sad about sea snails disappearing. Then, I read, somewhere, a few new species were discovered, snails and ...  The author must be cheered, I thought. Snails are re-inventing themselves.

In case anyone reads this wrong, I am not belittling that author.  I did not agree with his solution and could not answer the call, "Will you join me..." but I did appreciate the work. I felt his heart beating with heaviness.

I have just read elsewhere that many green sea turtles, rare in most parts, are "crowding  into a marine reserve" around an Indonesian island.  The writer might again be cheered.

Not so much. It's not all good news.

These turtles are behaving like humans.  Destroying their habitat.  Not too cheery.

Many of the turtles do not live in that bit of water, the ones that know say. They come from around about and eat, much like cows eat grass, they say, but end up pulling out the sea grass by the roots - according to a journal by Proceedings of the Royal Society B.  Hmm... no idea what or who that is, but said journal came out "last week" - so, um, recently.

"Protecting the species is not enough,"  Windia Adnyana, a turtle expert is quoted as having said.  Peter Mumby, they say, said they are eating themselves out of house and home.

So, there is talk of perhaps relocating the turtles. Are these turtles like human refugees, collecting in one spot for safety? What did they swim from?

And, of course, there is talk about the state of sea grass in general not being all that anymore, because of the Because, as we say in our family.

So, where to put them?  Can one move a sea turtle without its permission? Won't it just swim back?  They may graze like cows, but the sea is not a land we can easily fence.  Is it?

We are much like the gentle, heart-shaped, green sea turtles.  Bless us and forgive us.  We know not what we do.  

I cannot help but remember the scriptures.  They keep coming back to me.  "If you seek to save your life, you will lose it."  In Luke Chapter 9. 

Somewhere else in The Word we are asked what we consider to be our life.  Is it not just air? A breathe? Spirit?

And, somewhere else it is written that we do not fight flesh and blood, but principalities.

And, a teacher I respect said, if it is written that this or that will happen, then it is useless to pray that it won't. It will happen.

A people will say all religions are the same, and some will say religion is a waste of time, and some will doubt the existence of G-d, and some will not even doubt, just plainly not believe that there is more to this whole existence than birth, the middle bit and "gardening, gardening, death."

Some will suggest that our G-d is an alien from another planet and we have invented a supernatural being for the safety of our minds, but they usually say, "for a crutch."

I have been in that place of non-belief, believed that there is nought but me to depend on.  But, I came to G-d by way of angels, demanding, as I did, proof, with expletives, mind you, and I felt the presence, a hand on my head, and since then I have not been able to deny the existence of the supernatural.  Too many miracles for me to ignore.  And if there are angels and if there are miracles then ... everything else must be accepted as well.

I have explored everything I can, things that came to me, but I keep coming back to the scriptures that I learned in those early days of "after the angels".  At the time I marvelled at those who could rattle off scriptures to suit the situation, proclaim the Word of G-d in an instant.  I thought I would never remember it all.  But here I am, old, forgetful, with bad eye sight, a sense of hearing that is not all that anymore, in pain most of the time and weary. And, yet, the scriptures come back.

The trouble we have with The Bible is that we want to be selective, ignore the stuff we don't like, can't do, and take the good stuff, on a good day.  The Bible is a pretty fierce book, but it stands in the face of all adversity and that adversity grows.

I, myself, have wished and said that if G-d wanted us to keep the commandments just like so, and if He wanted us to know what to do, how to recognise the signs and all, then why couldn't He just tell us in plain language? Why does Revelation have to be so complicated?  Why does it have to be interpreted so many different ways, leave us open to error, misinterpretation and have preachers and teachers lead us astray because of their bending of The Word?

The scribes over estimated us perhaps.  We are not bright.  We are emotional, revengeful, demanding, scurrying creatures that want quick fixes, and as time rushes by so fast these days, the quicker the better.  Perhaps understanding scripture needs to be demanding, it needs our good works, which are not charity and and and, but time spent with The Word, as we have been taught over and over.

Though all things may not be clear to us upon reading The Word, some things are.  We are commanded to love one another, to support and nurture one another.  We are asked to feed to the hungry and clothe the poor, give harbour to the homeless, to entertain strangers, to realise that we are connected to each other, one to another.   We cannot even do that, let alone keep holy the Sabbath, be faithful to those we have wedded, turn the other cheek and take the stick out of our own eyes. All of this is in plain clear language. We can take it literally.

Much like the author of that book, I wake up and go to sleep with a great sadness.  I seldom weep these days, but if I could, I would, weep.  We have become complacent, we have huge issues with one another.

We can sleep when others have no pillow, and eat when others have nothing to nourish themselves with, and some, a lack of water.  Children are vulnerable.  Women and men, yes, men too, are vulnerable.  So vulnerable are the animals, the snails in the sea, turtles even, confused or perhaps revealing to us the nature of our being.  They are, perhaps, the mirror in the sea.  Let us see.

And yet, I have no solutions. I don't know which party should lead the country. I know only that the Bible says that G-d appoints kings.  G-d removes kings.  And, it is as G-d wills it.  And, therefore, we are instructed: Fear the Lord.  Another teacher, I think it was Derek Prince who said, fear even The Word, for it is written in John1:1  "In the beginning .... and the Word was G-d."

I am grateful that I believe in G-d. It is a gift, I think.  If I did not believe, I would not only weep, but go mad.

It is my prayer that you are divinely loved, always, and forever.

Light and Love, my lovelies.  Light and Love.
















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