Learn and experience - Paul -

We can read about the ocean in a book.

We can learn about the ebb and flow of tides.

We can learn about the high concentration of salt in the air.

We can learn about the number of miles an ocean may span.

But it’s another thing completely to stand at the water’s edge.

To hear the rush of waves.

To taste the salt with every breath.

To gaze upon the immense liquid landscape that extends beyond the visible horizon.

Yes, we can learn about the ocean by acquiring facts and data, but when we experience the ocean firsthand, that’s when we truly understand its magnificence.

Today I went to Mornington which is a small village near the coastline. Arriving there, I bee line for the beach, to let the sand sink between my toes and taste the fresh air that felt so unfamiliar against my skin. I have missed the ocean, missed green hills and cliff faces. At times its hard living in a concrete jungle. 

While at the beach, I was reading my reflection for the day - Acts 9 :1-19 - Saul road to Damascus. There is a lot in this reading to take, yet I will share one small view….

The Apostle Paul discovered this truth on the road to Damascus. Paul knew the Scriptures as well as anyone. He knew about Israel’s history. He knew about Mosaic Law. And he knew about the prophecies. Yet, he only knew about God.

Paul couldn’t fully know God until the light of Christ enveloped him and the voice of Christ spoke to him. In that moment, Paul experienced the truth of who God is in a totally new way. And it changed him forever.

There is a message in all this that is easy to see, not only in myself yet in others. 

It first comes clear when asked to tell apart of your story, temptation is to leave it all tied up with a neat little bow. 

Im sure you have heard it before - girl mess about. Girl finds God. Girl gets “saved”. Girl lives happily ever after! 

- Cue on the credits with the touching awe inspiring instrumental theme song. - So Hollywood!!

Reality is, life is not like this, the only neat little  bow will be found around the candle on the table. That mountaintop moment of peace and clarity, when all was suddenly right with the world! 

Newsflash - That feeling doesn’t last forever. - (meaning intense-ness of that feeling)

Yet the echo in the soul does! 

Even Paul, whose conversion on the road to Damascus was so powerful and dramatic one might think he would never go astray, struggled with his own imperfection. Yet he did! 

Knowing something, living it purely is two different things. They call for witness, for sacrifice, following at times while leading at others. 

I am for the most part, still a complex being, that is on a journey not only of self discovery, embracement yet of also been the Lord servant in whatever entirety that is.

Its time for our Hollywood ending! It is so often we focus our need to achieve perfection and forget that the hard work has already been done for us, in spite of us! And when we inevitably mess up or lose our way, or when others let us down, we are devastated, confused, shaken to the core sometimes. In this moments its when the grace of the Lord is most powerful, with the invitation to knee before the Cross leaving it there. Allow the Lord to create the Hollywood ending, as you never know it might be so unexpected and  beyond fireworks…

This small prayer to end the day  that connects into the Word - 

You break into my life in unexpected ways; a personal stormy moment, a field of wildflowers, a cup of tea with a friend, a special book, a prayer with someone who is discouraged, morning Eucharist, a leaf falling from a tree, an interruption, a surprising insight. you call me into the sacred circle of life. You clothe me with Christ- Power. 

You called me before my birth. You opened my eyes and my heart to moments of revelation. Set free in me any resistance to being your disciple. May I never hide my voice again! Amen. 

Please note - that the photos I have taken off line as my camera is not working on my phone no more and I forgot to take sisters camera ;o( Yet these capture much ;o)