Category: Photography

Punching through

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Uncategorized, Water3 Comments

Photo: the tunnel

(click for larger version)

Punching through

I’ve done a lot of things I am not qualified to do –at least not on paper. People who live in isolated parts of this vast country are less concerned with how many hoops you have jumped through to obtain a stamp of approval from institutions with stamps of approval from other institutions, than they are with whether you are available, willing to step into a gap, and know something they don’t, or are at least willing to learn.

I heard a story of some highly-paid expert consultant-types, some of them engineers, who were trapped in a burning building. While they waited for outside response to frantic cell-phone calls it was the cleaning guy with an intimate knowledge of the building and his collection of mop and broom handles who punched through the wall and led them to safety. He was instantly promoted to leader.

An expert is anyone with access to pertinent knowledge and the right tools –and in an emergency the “proper” gender, educational accomplishments, political affiliations, physical fitness and impressive resumes can be like cell phones in an area without service.

Someone from another part of the world was trying to convince me to drive to meetings on a weekly basis in Vancouver. She had looked at a map and assumed we were close. Well, by freeway-traversed flatland standards, yes, perhaps, but darling, there are a few mountains in the way here. It takes a while to go around them (like twelve hours if there is no snow or avalanches or construction delays). I sometimes wonder how long it took First Nations peoples to discover the passes on foot.

I was driving home from Alberta recently, hurtling down the highway at a 100 clicks, toward what looked like a solid wall of rock. Logic said there’s a road here, so it’s got to go through somewhere, but I wonder if I had been alone on foot before the road was built if I would have succumbed to fear and despair. It would have looked overwhelming.

Trust doesn’t come easily to me. Fear is always hiding behind a bush or a rock ready to sneak up and tell me I am not competent to handle this situation, that there are too many unknowns, too many factors I can’t control, that I’ve failed before and will probably fail again, that I am not qualified. Fear is such a nag. Sometimes I want to give in just so it will shut up.

I read something interesting lately. God agrees. I am not qualified.

I am not qualified to listen to that voice. I no longer work for that boss. He’s a liar and a cheat and a thief set on destroying the people my heavenly Fathers loves (and then blaming Him for it) and definitely not trustworthy.

This is what God says, “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the Lord, our Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy?” (Isaiah 51:12)

It’s like he is saying to me, “Who do you think you are that you can ignore what I just told you, to go off and listen to the guy who has publicly stated it is his goal to pull down everything I created? Do you not think I will back you up with all my resources if I have asked you to do something? No, you are not qualified to do this without my help, don’t even try, but if I didn’t think you were the person for the job I would have asked somebody else. Now quit taking your instructions from the wrong side.”

I am not an expert, but I have access to the source of all knowledge and wisdom and He has given me tools, simple though they may appear. As I go about my humble chores I gain experience that allows me to be available and step into the gap and get the job done when necessary.

I’ve been through this valley before. I know where there is a hole in the massive stone wall. I can say with confidence to you, than when his beloved children face impossible opposition, that God provides a way where it looks like there is no way.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

     and rivers in the desert.

(Isaiah 43:19)

God is good.

Family business

On By Charis PsalloIn Black and white, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Photo: a tired building

I think the current church at large is like a business with an assignment from head office.

I see us divided into four main departments:

Those who talk about how their great-great-great-great-grandparents did it. Big on costume dramas and protocol.

Those who keep studying new translations of the instruction manual (from the Japanese) and rarely get off the cautions page. Only pop out of the book long enough to tell the other departments what they are doing wrong. Big on memos.

Those who see the need and urgency of the task. They put a lot of effort into recruiting new staff because there is a high turn-over of burnt-out employees exhausted from trying to do something/anything with the proceeds of lemonade stands and car-washes. Big on heart-wrenching commercials.

Those who are busy zapping each other with the power tools they found in the box that came with the manual. Often found lying on the floor, frizzy-haired and vibrating with that finger-in-the-socket look. Big on topping each others stories of finding cool new tools and wads of cash.

Then there are a large number who are still listed as employees who don’t fit anywhere, those who are disillusioned or frustrated or have been wounded in the cross fire, those who work from home,  (or a mountainside, or fishing boat – or bed) and just check their emails once in a while.

Each department holds regular pep rallies or potlucks to tell each other why they are the best and why the other departments are off the rails. If abundant food (and especially dessert) is involved more people show up for these meetings.

A few try to bridge the gap and communicate with all departments. They tend to be familiar with the smell of tar and feathers.

When are we going to quit competing with each other, seek the CEO and listen to His point of view, ask Him to bring an intervention, allow Him to show us where we have gone off the rails, admit it, and change  — and then get his show in the road?

End rant.

The meek shall inherit

On By Charis PsalloIn Animals13 Comments

Photo: Dogs have masters; cats have staff.

This morning I read in Romans about how God used Pharoah. It says God actually raised Pharoah up to that position for a reason. I wonder if God allowed a megalomaniac to rise to a position of power because it was time for a public show-down with a human who actually believed he was in charge. God told Moses what to do and what to say, then added, “Oh, by the way, Pharoah won’t listen.” Moe probably felt like middle management.

Pharoah refused to change because he refused to learn. He arrived at the point of contact with Moses and Aaron in a state of being incapable of changing his mind.

It just so happens this cat in the photo is named Ramses, after a Pharoah of Egypt. He is an exceptional cat because he does play fetch — with an alarmingly realistic replica of a dead mouse — but he deigns to participate in this exchange with us mere humans on his own terms and in accordance to his mood swings only. He performs for no man.

His demeanor reminds me of people who consider themselves to be experts in all fields which matter. If they are not experts in a particular field, it is because that area, in their opinion, is not of importance.

Like most cats, Ramses is not known for his eagerness to learn new tricks. (Can you tell I’m a dog person –although I admit a certain admiration for his regal bearing and alluring appearance.)

The Bengal breed is beautiful. Their markings remind us they are not that far removed from the wild. They are gorgeous animals and tend to be more aloof than the typical house cat, but like most cats they are not compliant. They are not meek. Woe betide if breakfast is late.

I don’t think , when meekness is mentioned as a positive character trait in the Bible, that it refers to a doormat, a milk toast, or a namby pamby, wishy washy victim. I think it refers to a person who humbly admits he or she is not an expert, but is confidant in her or his potential and knows she or he is capable of learning.

I love this description of meekness. A meek person knows how to lose nobly at chess. He does not distract his opponent and tip the board or demand best of three or twenty-three or a hundred twenty-three grudge matches. When confronted with a check he lays down his queen and says, “You are better than I am, but I can learn. Teach me.”

Don’t mistake meekness for mildness or timidity. True meekness is unswervingly honest, ferociously courageous and undauntedly thorough. Meek people are never resigned to hopeless stagnation in mental, emotional or spiritual slavery. They realize that gain comes through the willingness to let go of  lies which have remained unexamined for too long.

A lack of meekness was the central weakness in Pharoah’s character. He was the victim of an attitude that was not teach-able.  It was an arrogant attitude that mistook stubbornness for perseverance. I believe the attitude developed as his own original choice, but after it became entrenched, God chose to exploit it, and hardened his heart further. Only God knows at what point some people’s rebellion solidifies into unmovable arrogance. Not my job. Not going there.

My job is to remain soft-hearted, malleable, willing to admit ignorance, and to be confidant that I am capable of learning — meek. My job is to be honest about my weakness and co-operate in the mind renewing process.

But his reply has been, “My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely.” Therefore, I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ. I can even enjoy weaknesses, suffering, privations, persecutions and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For my very weakness makes me strong in him. 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

Fix my eyes

On By Charis PsalloIn Trees and forests, Uncategorized2 Comments

Photo: the upward road

Today as I awake to Pentecost Sunday I feel like blind Bartimaeus.

I sit by the roadside.

I’ve tripped again.

I cry out, “Jesus, son of David have mercy on me!”

I feel like I am an annoyance and embarrassment to everyone around me,

but I don’t care.

Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!

Master, this is what I want:

I want to see You.

I see all the needy people around me.

I see my inadequacies.

I see my sin.

How can I help anyone on this journey when I keep falling down myself?

Master, fix my eyes that I might fix my eyes on You!

Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus the source and the goal of our faith. Hebrews 12:1

More

On By Charis PsalloIn Neither animal nor vegetable, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Green pots IMG_6888.jpg

Terracotta clay pots

Orange pots

At the garden center -pots

Blue triangle pots

Seeing all these pots at the garden center today reminded me of an old hymn from my childhood:

He will fill your heart today to overflowing,

As the Lord commanded you, bring your vessels, not a few,

He will fill your heart today to overflowing

With the Holy Ghost and Power.

The Listener

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Uncategorized5 Comments

Photo:  Railroad tracks near Bummer’s Flats

I had tea with a friend this morning who told me this story. She and her husband were sitting on their lawn chairs enjoying the beauty of a warm evening last week when her husband had an urge to pray for the safety of the visitors coming to the area in the next few days. So he did. She asked him why he did that; he’s never prayed for tourists before. (Locals are more likely to complain about being stuck behind stubble-jumpers hauling enormous trailers on our winding mountain roads. The poor folk seem to be afraid of any drop-off deeper than their gum boots.) He shrugged and said he didn’t know. He just felt he should. Then they went on enjoying the beautiful quiet together.

The next day their friend, who is a train engineer, was bringing a train through the valley. A young man from Alberta had apparently become so drunk he sat down on the train tracks, then fell asleep right there. The engineer immediately tried to stop the train when he saw him and realized it was a person, but of course could not do it in time. When it did finally stop he and another rail road employee reluctantly climbed down from the engine to go look for body parts. What they found absolutely astonished them. The man was alive and still sleeping. 26 loaded cars had passed over him. When they called to him he woke up! 26 freight cars with screeching brakes passed over him and didn’t wake him up -which is just as well. If they had and he had moved his head or a limb even slightly they would have been chopped off, but he was totally unharmed.

Wow. Wow. Wow. God is good. Pray for this guy. I do believe God preserved him for a reason. Apparently he survived another accident in the same place last year.

We also praise God for the conductor who is due to retire in a few weeks and has never had an accident. God preserved him and his assistant as well.

And pay attention to those urges to pray.

Kindness and severity

On By Charis PsalloIn Mountains, Uncategorized4 Comments

Photo: Kananaskis country

Behold the kindness and severity of God. Romans 11:22

This phrase doesn’t sound like praise, but I mean it to be.

A person cannot truly appreciate this mountainous country until they have a healthy respect for it. This is no tame amusement park to be entered without consideration; life & death consequences await one who strays from the trails without proper equipment and understanding of the back country. But for one familiar with it’s ways, hiking here is a joyful walk in overwhelming beauty.

So it is with our relationship with God. Awesome, kind, severe, merciful, loving, life-altering beauty so much greater than my ability to comprehend.

His creation, His truth, His rules.

As my husband says, He’s a good listener, but He doesn’t take my advice well – for which I praise Him.

“Because of Your great glory“