“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.”
- John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Free will.
Our mama hummingbird has returned. After days of rainy cold we gardened on the weekend, much to her fluttery dismay, until we discovered she was indeed guarding a corner where she had quietly built a cozy nest in the Rubber Tree, just as she did last Spring. This time she has centered her miraculous creation in the screen-free part of our guest-room window where the tree sits. There won’t be a problem peering upward through the glass, as the bean-sized, blind and featherless chick(s) begin to pop their sweet little heads out for a feeding. I still treasure the intricacy of her tiny nest from last Spring preserved on my gardening table. My youngest granddaughter checks it often, asking to hold it.
This week, Vi watched through the window, in wonder, as mama arrived to her tiny incubator, worm hanging from her bill :) Barely four, she grabbed my arm and said, “Nana, this is a mi-wi-cal.” “It is,” I repeated. “A miracle.”
We are miracles…
Innately, we know from the time we are quite small what “wonder” is.
When do we take God's gift of life, earth, and all she has to offer, for granted? Why are we here?
Never having flown, three weeks later, mama nudges her fledglings out of the nest, dropping one last meal into their longing beaks, maneuvering them to the threshold of the world.
“Go.”
“Fly.”
If they can trust the process, certainly we can.
Matthew 6:26
In one minute your heart beats 60 to 100 times, yet on the journey we must be patient.
In 30 years a century plant (Agave americana) blooms. The name “century” is a bit misleading, but for the plant itself, 30 years is a very patient amount of time.
Nature vs human nature in a turbulent world.
How long does it take us to bloom? to be less concerned about the things we can’t control.
To find meaning.
Recently, I was looking through my copy of the 2013 photography book Humans of New York, by Brandon Stanton. Staring at the many diverse faces I realized that there was a time where we just lived. Twelve years ago we were introduced to an eclectic collection of people and stories from all over New York City. I don’t remember groups of people conducting relentless violence, desecrating historical places including cemeteries, churches or torching and destroying city buildings, statues, cars, and now antisemitic sit-ins in America. I remember the example of peaceful protests growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, and prayer vigils. Public university students praying for the release of hostages during the Iran Hostage Crisis at the American Embassy in 1979. Banners hung from dorm rooms saying “Set our people free.”
As I skimmed the pages, my eye caught this beautiful young woman. What she said struck my heart.
It feels like starting problems and conflicts are a way of life.
It. is. relentless. I will always say I am on “God’s side” before I’m on a political side. In the end my convictions matter more than the potential confusion of group think.
Groups, not gangs, are productive when praying together or acting peacefully toward a positive goal. Matthew 18:20
Ask me what I care about: Homelessness, drug addiction, poverty, mental health, healthcare in general, elder care, and humans/animals dying at a rapid rate. I live in L.A. County. Los Angeles has 57 Skid Rows. Dogs are used for breeding (any mix will do) and fighting on the streets. Money for drug hits. It is a crisis of magnitude. Displaced fire disaster victims are living in hotels or with friends and family, unseen to the general public. Still unseen, many people live in their cars.
Others are choosing to destroy expensive cars (and people's livelihoods). Make this make sense!
“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.” - Eric Hoffer
(gulp)
But what can we do about it? Create something beautiful?
Hebrews 12:14 asks us to “pursue peace with all people,” yet we constantly see ourselves at the gateway of timshel.
Why do ordinary people join mass movements and become fanatical devotees of what they perceive as a holy cause? Philosopher Eric Hoffer pondered this question.
“It is the individual only who is timeless. Societies, cultures, and civilizations -- past and present -- are often incomprehensible to outsiders, but the individual's hungers, anxieties, dreams, and preoccupations have remained unchanged through the millennia.”
― Eric Hoffer
When we think before we act we can choose to act on something that bears fruit.
Nature shows us the minute we step outside. The mama hummer doesn’t come to create conflict. She soars through the air, practically made of air, fierce yet patient, in her approach. I have photographed hummer mamas a long time. At a distance, I hear her as she arrives. Like a helicopter hovering, her wings spread out, cross-like, beating 70 times per second, arriving in peace, warning anyone who comes too close that she has a certain radius around her precious youngsters.
Look at our greatest bird, the Bald Eagle. We have been obsessed watching Jackie and Shadow, on the eagle-cam, guarding their nest in Big Bear, California.
They lost one of their three newborn eaglets in a snowstorm Sunday March 16th :( It is incredible to have witnessed their patience and “natural God given instincts.” They still have two little babies to nurture for the next 10 to 13 weeks. After this period of time they will learn to fly and continue to stay near their nest.
The bald eagle, once teetering on the brink of extinction, has made a remarkable comeback thanks to conservation efforts, including the Endangered Species Act.
We are an endangered species.
Spiritual blindness is robbing us to extinction.
Nature doesn’t exist for it’s own selfish conflicts. It exists for harmony and balance. To give life and to sacrifice for life, in the circle of life. Just as God sacrificed. Nature does it over and over again. It performs miracles. Blooming, struggling, producing and asking us “what do you think? what did you learn?”
While lawn mowers thrash through neighborhoods, sprinklers spray, wind whips up, rain comes, sun blinds, doors slam, voices shriek, night falls and lights flicker, our tiny helpless hummer babies wait patiently for their mother.
Nature shows us “a hard fought it-is-well hallelujah! “ This is God’s example of patience and trust.
His never ending patience with us.
Animals prepare their children to survive. Not to hate.
Watch what a human can do to a child or animal.
An innocent child will greet their friends without a tainted worldly view of them. There is no race, color, identity or religion that they don’t love. Children learn from us.
Life and death are both at our doorstep.
When I see human beings, that had a free-will choice, choose the wrong path, (despite ANY circumstance), I am genuinely heartbroken at the immensity of the potential of their one precious life. All I can do is pray redemption, salvation for before the grave.
When I see the amount of lives stolen by conflict and war, I pray for peace. Pray for the hurting and for those who hold the controls to drop their arms and fall to their knees.
Evil is an inescapable human problem. History will repeat itself due to free will.
The Way is open.
Let worldly things, like politics, handle themselves.
Cast your opinion, vote, then let it go…
The choice is ours.
The process His.
Thou mayest
or…
Thou mayest not
Timshel,
“the most important word in the world”
HALLELUJAH! Thank God He is patient and gracious with us! Faithful with whatever we are feeling or facing. “Miracle Child,” Brandon Lake’s mom had six miscarriages before having him. Like the Eagle she never gave up.
Brandon is a worship pastor at Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and a former member of Bethel Music and Maverick City Music.
Jelly Roll was in and out of jail for 10 years from the age of 14. He earned a GED, at 23, while incarcerated, and when he received the news about the birth of his first child, everything changed for him. He walked out of jail and chose to turn his life around. He still describes himself as a “fence riding Christian.”
Together they created something beautiful.
A life anthem.
Love this article!
Beautiful Deborah, and your words give us so much hope for our spiritual future.
🙏🤗✨💜
I believe that the greatest gift God has given us is the freedom of choice—the ability to make our own decisions. Adam fell because of a poor choice, yet God provided redemption through Jesus, who served as the perfect ransom for Adam’s errors. Jesus, too, faced choices, and his strength and dedication to God restored humanity's direction. God did not create automatons; He fashioned thoughtful and compassionate individuals in His image, allowing us the potential to achieve greatness similar to that of Jesus.
f you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23