#10
I am sitting in a church in Southern Nepal. A place of stifling humidity and bellicose mosquitoes. Not quite the beauty I expected from the home of the Himalayas. I am entering hour three of a bemusing Nepali service. I think I may be the beneficiary of some sort of conference judging by the uncommon retinue. Despite the obeisance of the occasion, ambivalence is written on my face and those of my fellow Worldracers. My fair skinned friends writhe on the rough mats, that resemble acutely balding astro turf, attempting to accrue at least a fleeting sense of comfort. Do not get me wrong the service is in it own way efficacious and we are benevolent but it is month 10 and this life has become monosemous. It is in this atmosphere that I decide to take abeyance and peer out of the bedraggled window to my right.
Through the ornamental black bars, I see the rain is still dabbling with the idea of inundating the land with much needed deluge. With acuity I am able discern each individual droplet, a shower light enough to be edifying, a rainfall graceful enough for Gene Kelly to enjoy. It is fortunate that the clouds settle on constraint, their cries do not obscure the sun raised Himalayan Alpine trees that stand in the background. A stones throw away the lithe Abieses ensconce my attention. Tall, slender and sparse of their petite limbs they bend and sway in a beatific cavalcade under the unseen and inaudible wind. An impish chorus line of evergreen ballerinas that Mr. Kelly would again enjoy.
Slowly I am drawn out of beatitude and into introspection. Why am I taking such delight in this Muirian fantasy? I am not one to abstract easterly winds, the malleability of low density wood, and mild precipitation.
How am I lost in this bucolic romance?
Mystery.
The Mystery that is God. The mystery that He presents us with everyday. The mystery that propels the romance. Who could create this scene? Every shade, every texture, every breathe. Unimaginable yet boldly painted in front of me. So apparently simple, yet when dissected, too incongruous to process. I am consumed with intrigue.
Mystery, Romance, Intrigue. They litter every love story yet are at a dearth when we speak of our love story with God. I think we refuse the inscrutability of God because it is frightening. We prefer a predictable God because it douses us with the illusion of safety and control; we reconnoiter verses to back these .insolent claims.
We are wrong.
God is anything but docile and benign. Read Job 38 and Song of Solomon 7. His presence is palpable. You can taste the words, the love, the affection, the desire for immeasurable intimacy and tactile relationship. God wants to romance you just as He is doing to me. But you have to be willing to see past the rain, you cannot be tethered to the empirical alone. Open your heart to God’s immutable romance and allow it to swallow you whole…
I say all that to say this Nepal is an adventure.
By the way, my friend Jake needs to raise $1000 dollars within the next month to attend his Squad’s Final Debrief. Jake unfortunately had to leave the Worldrace a couple of months ago because of a medical condition. It would be such a blessing to him and his squad if he were able to participate in his squad’s final memory together. You can read his blog at http://jacobfields.theworldrace.org/ and donate to him here. Thanks in advance for blessing this wonderful man of God.
