Let Us Not Be Hasty

“When have I been hasty or unwary who have waited and prepared for so many long years?” 
–Aragorn, Son of Arathorn; Heir of Elendil and rightful king of Gondor   // Lord of the Rings

It was Treebeard, the oldest living thing in middle earth that said “Let’s not be hasty!” It was his motto. And Ellesar (i.e. Aragorn) who strode around with great strides who patiently awaited the day when he could come into his own.

Today, we have lost the blood of the men of Númenor, and we go about in a great hurry. Are we patient in waiting upon the Lord? The Bible is full of the examples and teachings of waiting upon the Lord.

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The LORD takes delight in his faithful followers, and in those who wait for his loyal love. (Psa 147:11)

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  (Psa 37:7)

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This is one of my ‘photo creations’. I took the photo of the clock, and borrowed the background offline.

Knife Edge

“….your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and you will fail…”  (Galadriel to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring)

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But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.  (Matthew 7.14  NET)

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25 NET)

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“[Jesus replied] ‘This is impossible for mere humans,but not for God; all things are possible for God.’”
(Mark 10:27 NET)

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How little I fully understand the ‘knife edge’ I walk on. Why should I, as Paul the self acclaimed ‘chief of sinners’ , have a sure hope? How little I fully understand the keeping power of God, making that path way as safe and sure as a highway…Thank God for His power over the impossible. 

There is no safer place on earth than this knife edge. No narrow way so sure.

Straight Street

   One way home. One road to glory.

   Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me:  for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
     (Psa 25:4-5)

Fimbrethel

She lifts her knurled hands to the skies, takes a knobby step towards the horizon. Ever upwards –yet ever still. Still and silent upon the hill.

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“In the willow-meads of Tasarinan I walked in the
Spring.
Ah! the sight and the smell of the Spring in Nantasarion!
And I said that was good.
I wandered in the Summer in the elm-woods of Ossiriand.
Ah! the light and the music in the Summer by the Seven
Rivers of Ossir!
And I thought that was best.
To the beeches of Neldoreth I came in the Autumn.
Ah! The gold and the red and the sighing of leaves in the
Autumn in Taur-na-neldor!
It was more than my desire.
To the pine-trees upon the highland of Dorthonion I
climbed in the Winter:
Ah! the wind and the whiteness and the black branches
My voice went up and sang in the sky.
And now all those lands lie under the wave,
And I walk in Amboróna, in Tauremorna, in Aldalómë.
In my own land, in the country of Fangorn,
Where the roots are long,
And the years lie thicker than the leaves
In Tauremornalómë“
                          ~Treebeard the Ent in the Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

 

* a lone tree on a lone hill near one of my favorite ‘get aways’

Working Together

Cher-i-os! Com’on boys, let’s do this together. These ants know how to work together to move an object many many times their size. Sometimes they didn’t quite move in a perfectly straight line –but they all worked together towards the common goal.

We too should work together. Our differences and disagreements may make us curve a bit at times –but with God’s urging, we should finally arrive at the same goal.

*these tiny ants move a cheerio fifteen feet to their home…..

Razor - - - - -

Not every string of razor wire is meant to keep things imprisoned. In this case, it is meant to keep people out. But it is always used for protection. Here, razor wire is used at a phone tower to protect expensive equipment from being ransacked –and to protect mischievous people from hurting themselves on the towers (I admit to having great desire to climb the towers to get a birds eye view). Prisons use razor wire to protect the people without from people within who have a habit of hurting other people.

In life we mistake God’s razor wires for things they aren’t. We say “God is holding something good from me” when really he is trying to protect us from what lies inside that boundary. Or, we feel that God’s laws imprison us from enjoying the real world –when really God is protecting us from this world so that we can pass safely into the next world.

When razor wires are crossed –blood and suffering are the result. When razor wires are respected –the peace of God is present.

*razor wire at our local phone towers here in El Naranjo

This Side of Glory

We wait on this side. IT is on the other side. In the light of Glory –something so much greater than just eternity- everything on this side becomes dark…and colorless. On this side we enjoy beauty. But we can only enjoy beauty on this side as we look past it into the light and hope of Glory.

*a simple shot through a window. This admittedly is not a good picture. It was highly dramatized to bring out my point.