Our Lombard Street and “24-Zig”

WHAT DOES THE NEXT YEAR HOLD FOR US?

San Francisco is famous for its hilly streets but Lombard Street used to take the prize for being the most treacherous drive until it was re-engineered to make it safer. Previously, when it was a steep straight street, it was a one-way death-defying drop toward the San Francisco Bay. Engineers gave it a series of hairpin S-curves within the space of one city block. Low, walled gardens were built, projecting from the sides of the street into the center, creating 4 right-hand and 4 left-hand S-curves—a total of 8 from the high top to bottom. Maximum speed? Only 5-10 mph. You now spend as much time going sideways as you do going downhill—but at least you arrive in one piece!

A part of the famous Burma Road carved from the mountainous jungles in the late 1930s, “24-Zig” has 24 zigzag turns in the road in the space of 2.4 miles—one S-curve every one-tenth of a mile. From the air, it looks like a long piece of wet spaghetti laid out with 24 perfect hairpin turns running along the top of the mountain ridges. You actually travel 10 miles in order to complete 2.4 miles. Most of the time you are going sideways.

Google's map function will take you visually to both of those spots. Isn't the Internet fascinating?

We may fret at the slow pace of our life journey and the sideways directions seem to be a waste of time. Nevertheless, God seldom takes us to His destination by a straight street, for good reasons known only to Him. The zigzags may be frustrating and confusing. It would be nice to have a heaven's-eye-view of our lives from beginning to end. Not possible. Faith and trust in God is our only recourse. “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) So let's allow God to be our GPS for whatever roads we must travel in the year ahead!

There may be some steep hills to climb.

Some times where the road seems treacherous

and you aren't sure which turns to take.

Times when you feel like you are on the brink of falling.

And there may be many curves in the road

as you make your way through the ups and downs of the coming year.

May you know God's presence with you through each tunnel,

every steep climb, every curve

in the beautiful mountaintop experiences with Him,

and also through the slippery storms of life.

May He walk with you down through the valley and up the mountain,

take your hand and guide you through to His Light,

put a hedge around you to keep you safe,

help you to find joy and excitement in the roller coaster ride,

and fill you with amazement at the beauty He provides along the way.

Take time to smell the flowers,

to admire His handiwork along Life's railway.

And may His love flood over you, fill you, and overflow in praise

to Him for all He's done, does, and will do! Amazing—isn't He?

Worrying does not take away Tomorrow's TROUBLES

It takes away Today's PEACE.

DRIFTING OFF KEY?

Drifting can happen in music and in life.

I had a gifted friend in our vocal music class in high school who would begin singing right on pitch but would invariably drift off key. Part of her problem might have been that she was not listening to herself or her hearing might have been impaired. Drifting in our spiritual lives can happen in any season of life, but in our latter season it seems to become more common.

Scripture mentions drifting. “...We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).

Drifting in the natural world implies being carried along by wind or current. We can visualize it as the movement of a boat when loosened from an anchor. Quietly and unnoticed, it will drift downstream floating aimlessly. 

Spiritually, drifting is what we used to call “backsliding” in the evangelical world. A person once fervent, strong, and bold in his beliefs and witness unobtrusively seems to have become lukewarm and withdrawn. He begins to deviate from God's purpose which formerly impelled him towards God's intended goal. He has slipped away from God Who has been his Anchor and soon finds himself at a distance downstream.

Scripture uses other terms related to drifting: “falling away, being carried away, wandering, tossed here and there by waves, being led away, going astray, carried about by every wind of doctrine, driven and tossed.” In most cases those words are directed to believers, to Christians. Since God has created us with free will, we can decide to change course or unless we are careful, drift off course. If we stop pressing on spiritually, drift is inevitable because of the drag of the current of materialism and the secular culture.

As I advance in my latter years it is easy to let my guard down, to drift morally, and grow slack in my full obedience to the Lord. It is possible to disgrace Him at the end of my life. By such a drift I could undo all the good and positive reputation and witness for God of my earlier years. In the book of Revelation Jesus is recorded as calling such a drift "losing your first love" and His command is to remember from where you have fallen and repent. Jesus declared He would rather we be cold or hot than lukewarm, tepid, or halfhearted.

 

In the context of our mature years, what could possibly cause us to become spiritual driftwood washed up, as it were, on the shores of life after we have been faithfully fervent and effective in our Christian lives? Are any of us immune to such a possibility? The latter season of our lives carries its own special temptations and influences. We may have become physically tired, exhausted, weak and weary with the length of our journey. Our knees buckle and our arms hang limp both physically and spiritually. The pressure of circumstances, the loss of beloved relationships, loneliness, being forced to downsize our living situations—these and many other factors may contribute to discouragement and depression which leads to spiritual drifting. 

What is the remedy for drifting? Aside from any adverse circumstances, I can drift spiritually when I am not careful to maintain my connection with my Anchor, God, and with others in the community of faith. The New Testament letters are full of admonitions to “hold fast” and to “stand firm.” The term is repeated again and again. I need to continually “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Such an intimate relationship keeps the fires of “first love” burning.

The instruction of Hebrews 2:1 is all the more pertinent in my older years. I must “pay much closer attention” even than I did in my younger and mid-years. As a long time follower of the Lord for decades and scores of years I dare not regard God's Truth as “same old-same old” that I have heard so many times before. Stale listening is a particular temptation. Perhaps I need new spiritual “hearing aids.” The Holy Spirit has fresh, new ways of speaking God's ancient truths to me in my advanced years, if I remain eager to hear them. 

God wants me to keep singing enthusiastically while I am at the summit of my life journey and not drift off key. This life is a dress rehearsal for my Life To Come. I want to sing my way Home on perfect pitch.

“Quah-kah-ka-num-ad”

(Excerpt adapted from Ch. 11 of my recently published book “Living the Treasures in the Land of MORE”) In the celebration of feast days in the Church's liturgical calendar, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne is today's “Saint of the Day.”

“Woman-who-prays-always.”

Those words above are translated from what the Potawatomi Indians called the strange elderly nun who came across the ocean to teach them about God. 

 

Born in France in 1769 and growing up in the midst of the French Revolution, Rose Philippine Duchesne spent many years caring for the sick and poor, helping fugitive priests, visiting prisons, and teaching the faith to destitute children. All the while she prayed for the day she might go abroad as a missionary. It seemed her hopes would never be realized. 

Time passed. Finally at the age of fifty Rose enthusiastically answered the bishop’s call for nuns to go to the United States as missionaries. It took 11 weeks to cross the ocean and another 7 weeks on the Mississippi before she arrived at her destination in Missouri.

During the rest of her life in pioneer America, she built a convent, orphanages, parish schools, schools for Indians, a boarding academy, and a novitiate for her order. All the while suffering threat of Indian massacres, poor health, crude and cramped living quarters, shortages of food, water, fuel, and money, forest fires and blazing chimneys, severe climate, and total lack of privacy. At the age of seventy-two she founded still another mission school for Indian girls and nursed the sick until her death at eighty-three. 

Unable to learn the Indian language at her advanced age, she was best known for praying while others taught. Her many active works may have disappeared in the passing of generations, but her intercession for the people she encountered is even now bearing eternal fruit. 

In my advanced age, I don't endure the privations under which Rose served God. But I too want be make myself available as a “Quah-kah-ka-num-ad.” When my friends, my family, even virtual strangers, or those with little Christian background ask me to pray for them, as they so often do, I hope to be “instant in prayer, in season and out of season.” I too can no longer realistically expect to pursue the active works in the harvest field which I had the opportunity to do in years past. Nevertheless, while others teach and work, behind the scenes I can pray. 

I can imagine that if Rose lived in my generation, she would have made full use of modern communication. But her prayers were not hindered for lack of technology. I do live in a high tech age. So I want to respond by praying immediately, and when appropriate even write my prayer by e-mail. I’m confident that as I send off my prayer through cyberspace it is simultaneously transmitted by Angelic Messenger Service in less than a nanosecond to Our Father Who is in Heaven. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for Your editorial blue pencil to make my prayers instantly good and acceptable and perfect before they reach God!

SOBRIETY CHECK POINTS

A flashing light up ahead....

Law enforcement sets them up around holidays intending to catch substance abuse drivers. Most of us don't mind such traffic delays since they help to prevent accidents.

Life also has sobriety check points. They are reality checks. God may be behind them working out His loving purposes for our good.

It might be the sudden death of a loved one; we become acutely aware of our own mortality. Or a doctor's serious prognosis; life as we have known it will drastically change. Perhaps a simple notice in our mailbox that we have arrived at the AARP age; it's time to reshuffle our dreams and goals. The graduation of a child—or a wedding—or a milestone birthday. Maybe a near accident that leaves us shaken. The deterioration of our health or becoming aware of the diminishing of our mental powers. Or a hard look in the mirror. A catastrophic storm that leaves our prized possessions in shambles. A poor investment or a financial crash that wipes out our life savings; we face a new normal. A spouse suddenly deserts the family. A job loss. Simply stepping on the bathroom scale may be a sobering shock for some. The list of potential taps on the shoulder is long and unique to each of us.

Without these sobriety check points in life we tend to drift along. As negative as they may seem, they force us to face reality and may give us time to correct our course. “So teach us to number our days that we may present to Thee [Lord] a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Tap on the Shoulder

God tapped me on the shoulder.

Busy, distracted, I postponed:

“Wait a minute.”

Time slipped by.

Detoured by trivial, temporal tasks

I deferred: “Later.”

Time dashed by.

Disguised as urgency

I mistook activity as priority

but it was not of the essence

of eternity.

I put God off again:

“Another time.” But

time flew by.

Dismayed with life's futility

distraught by mundane toil

distressed by swiftly fleeting days

I realized then

that time was running out.

Finally, God got my attention

by reminding me

through my fragility

of my own mortality

and dispensability.

God pursues me

relentlessly and lovingly

through blessing me generously

or through affliction and adversity

however necessary

to turn my heart

to Eternity.

Leona a.k.a. "SAL"

It's short for SALmon!

I don't remember how it started, but among friends for the past year I have been signing “Sal” as my informal signature.  I refer to myself as “God's SALmon still swimming/leaping upstream in life, only somewhat more slowly due to chronological factors.” The main factor being my current age of 87.

A little background on the salmon analogy first.

Alaska salmon have a most interesting life. One that takes them from the rivers and streams of Alaska's wild frontier an incredibly long distance to the high seas of the Pacific Ocean—and back again. In fact, right back to the very place they were born. They find their way from the immensity of the ocean by their amazing created instinct from God. Salmon swim from fresh water to salt water and back again!

Hatched from small eggs in a stream bed, their journey downstream towards the ocean takes a couple of years. After that, they head out to the salty ocean for up to 4 more years. They swim and feed more than 2000 miles throughout the northern Pacific Ocean. Their journey is hazardous at every point as they are constantly hunted by seals, whales, and fishermen. 

When fully mature, the adult salmon will swim back to their original stream or river re-adapting to fresh water. Downstream was relatively easy; returning upstream dangerous and requiring great strength and risk. They swim against the strong current through rugged rivers to leap up miles of rapids and rocky waterfalls, traversing fish ladders, avoiding nets and hooks of fishermen, and staying clear of fierce and hungry bears. 

Those that survive and finally reach their natal stream breed and lay their eggs. Their life cycle is complete. After spawning they generally die within a week or two, fertilizing the stream and creating a nutrient-rich environment for the new infant salmon that are about to hatch.

An analogy to myself?

I too have been on a long adventurous life journey of many decades in various geographical scenarios and under challenging conditions both physical and spiritual. 

Obstacles and hazards and adversities have been overcome or have passed  or I am accepting and managing them with the help and strength of our loving  God. I hope I have matured in wisdom while I have been weathered by the  different seasons of life and shifting circumstances. At times I felt that the  change from life's fresh waters to salty waters was impossible. But one adapts.  And God brings me back to refresh me with abundant fresh water blessings  again.  Violent bear and whale attacks both material and spiritual have been frequent  of my life. The hooks of the enemy often came too close. The battles have been  fierce but not terminal—some wounds and scars remain. It seems that I've often  had to swim against the current; at times also in deep waters and stormy seas.  The distances to accomplish the goals of my life which I've felt the Lord gave me  often seemed daunting. Sometimes I have lost direction in the vast ocean of life.  Time and again God helped me readjust my compass to align with His will and I  was on my way once more to the destination He planned. At times I've been exhausted, worn and weary by the length of the life's lonely  journey. Retirement beckoned invitingly. Why not stay in the perceived shelter  of the ocean and drift with the tide to some easier Finish Line? Swimming  upstream and leaping rapids is just too difficult anymore. That's meant for the  young. Been there, done that. Nevertheless, the vision and destiny which God planted in my heart from my  youth, like the inborn instinct of the tiny salmon hatchlings, impelled me to  first head downstream into the thick of ocean life in my prime years, and then  in maturity to struggle upstream again. “I press on [keep leaping upstream] in  order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ  Jesus.” And I press on [keep leaping upstream] toward the goal for the prize of  the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4: 12,14). As long as God generously provides for me His life and breath and strength  and opportunities through my spoken or written or published words, I will keep leaping the rapids. In these days of my maturity I want to be faithful  wherever and however and whenever I can to reproduce the Christ-life in others. That is my calling. And God's calling has no expiration date—it is for a lifetime.  There is no retirement program if one's focus is to do the will of God “on earth  as it is in heaven.” It's a joyous upstream adventure all the way! By signing “Sal” I guess I remind myself of the Lord's continuous upward call on my life without respect to chronological age.

FIERCENESS...Guest post

Fierceness… by Earthy Monk

I am called to fierceness...

a fiery passion for the God I am utterly in love with;
A burning ember for justice for the silenced, the forgotten, the broken,
for those who feel they are dangling at the edge;

I am called to fierceness…for God, for the poor and imprisoned.

I am called to fiercely
dive into the ocean of God’s love with reckless abandon.

I am called to fiercely face the man called Niles, the wounded ragamuffin
loved so deeply by the Love that bled on a Cross.

Whether pacing the cage or roaming free, I am so…but never alone. For I travel with One
who has been where I have been and gone where I am to go.

I am called…and fiercely so, to traverse headlong into the darkness, with fear and foe,
with folly and friend, knowing that no matter what may come, all is done with the Fiercest of
Loves…

and His name is Jesus.

Earthy Monk | November 1, 2012