It was late at night when I nestled into bed and before I could think too much about the day, I heard a train whistle blow.  I love that sound!  It is always alluring to me when I hear that distant long blast in the dark stillness of the night.  But this particular night it seemed to touch a deep unanticipated loneliness within me and held me close, as if I were wrapped up in the warm blanket of a memory.  I think I began to realize for the first time the significance of the train for me.

I was carried back to a time when I was about 8 years old.  We lived in San Angelo, Texas and my grandparents lived in Indiana.  Aunt Dot took my sister and I on a journey to Indiana by train.  It was my first time to venture out without my parents, and to travel in anything other than a car.  It was exciting and daring.  “All aboard!” We climbed on, found our seats and rode all day and all night long.  My nose was pressed to the window, my eyes continually searching the landscape as an ever expanding world passed by.  So much to see and absorb!  I never knew the horizon could be so big! The night lights of approaching towns were as captivating as the daytime scenes of countryside, small villages, and bustling cities.  I don’t remember eating or sleeping.  I only remember searching for anything I could see.

Early the next morning we pulled into St. Louis.  This was a large center for the intersection of trains.  Many of the train cars we were pulling were transferred as other cars were added on.  So we went through a time of moving forward, backing up, jerking again and again, as we heard and felt the cars bumping and being latched or unlatched.  It was like being in a huge mix master, and quite fascinating to experience.  Finally we headed out, anxiously anticipating the crossing of the great Mississippi River.

It was fun to learn how to spell that word, and now we were actually going to travel across by train!  How in the world was that going to happen?  What did happen was something I would never forget.  The train tracks made a bridge and were under the train, but when I looked out the window I could not see them.  It seemed that we were suspended high up in the air, moving across that expanse of water and over all the boats and barges below.  It was both frightening and wondrously miraculous!  In that moment I was struck with a new and important perspective….something was holding me up that I could not see!  I could only trust.  That innate understanding is an important perspective in our journey of faith.  The unseen God holds us up in such a way that we are able to know and believe what we cannot see.  We can’t fully explain it…we just KNOW.

Now on this night, the train whistle carried me into that memory and I was there again, and I knew what is always true….God is holding us up.  Now I have a deeper understanding of why the sound of the train is so special to me.  I pulled the covers more snugly around me, then one last memory….

When we arrived at our destination I could see my Grandma, tall and lean, standing outside the station waving, anxiously waiting to wrap me up in her long arms.  I could feel them already!  Love is present.

nk

 

It seems that often our lives are so full and we race through our days in such a way that it all runs together and becomes a blur.  It’s not so much that we have to inspect every detail looking for imperfections, but rather that we take time to notice the little things that can mean so much.

My grandson who will soon turn three loves his little flashlight.  It is just the right size for his small hand and allows him to inspect small places.  He is fascinated with every discovery, especially because so much of his world is still so new to him.  Here is a glimpse of a moment on Christmas morning when he had just received his new flashlight….

Oh my gosh!!  What we let our grandkids do to us!  ( He told me to take a deep breath. Dr. Batman got it a little confused with listening to my lungs!)

I certainly don’t want to spend my days with a small flashlight in my hand.  But it might be a good thing at the close of each day to reflect on what was special about that day.  If we were to be still for a moment and let the moments of the day surface, it is most likely  we would discover it was the small things that meant the most.  It may have been a hug, a glance from across the room, a certain word spoken.  Or perhaps the way the morning sun fell across the landscape as it did for me this morning.

Today was such a beautiful day!  I went for a walk this morning and a red bird suddenly appeared above me in a barren tree so that he was in clear view.  He stared at me and chirped away with such a wide range of inflection it was as if his voice was dancing.  Whatever he was saying as his head bobbled about, it was quite emphatic!  I could not move!  He went on for awhile, pausing only occasionally to ruffle his feathers a bit.  I kept wishing I had my phone to snap his picture but no doubt that would have ruined the special moment.  It was only to be captured in my mind and heart.  I was just so grateful that in my brisk walk I was able to receive the gift of a CLOSER LOOK.  It brought a whole new perspective to my day!

I invite you to pause for a closer look.

nk

 

 

This is a photo of one of the doors at the entrance to Heidelberg Castle in Germany.  It is huge and heavy and centuries old.  It is quite difficult to open!  We might need some help.

But walking through this door allows us a view of the entire city of Heidelberg which we could not see any other way.  It broadens our perspective.

Entering allows us to see what life was like inside the walls generations ago.  We could not have known without going through that door to the other side.

If we want to grow in knowledge, understanding, acceptance, and love we must enter the big heavy doors of our world that separate us from the other side.  If we open our heart as we open the door, we have the opportunity to grow in love.

One Sunday afternoon I went with a group from Montgomery UMC to Polunsky Unit Prison.  It is classified “death row”.  There were many heavy doors we entered to get in to the other side.  It was a place I had never been before.  We were guided to a large room with no windows.  Our eyes were wide open with curiosity and anticipation.  Our hearts were beating a little faster, leaning forward into a fearful unknown.  Suddenly big heavy doors creaked open and into the room filed large numbers of men in white. As they marched in, we all sat motionless and breathless.

A small group of the men in white sang and played guitars.  Then a few others stood before us, their hands naturally clasped behind their back as if they stood “at ease” rather than imprisoned. One by one they went to the microphone and spoke.  Volunteers who had led Bible Studies inside the prison had brought the word of God which changed the lives of these men.  They wanted to witness.

One man told his story.  He wept as he poured out the truth of his life. Finally I heard the words I will never forget….”I have never known love like this.  I NEVER KNEW LOVE!”, he said.  Imprisonment for these men had been a lack of love.  In a new life these walls could not contain, they had been set free.  It dawned on me that there was no light coming into that room from the outside.  But the inside of the room was filled with LIGHT, a light I had never witnessed in that way before.  I dared to enter the other side, and I grew in LOVE.  We all need love!

Questions to ponder…

Where are the barriers, walls, heavy closed doors in your world?

What might it mean for you to open a heavy door and find new perspective, new love on the other side?

Has this ever happened for you?

nk

As we begin a new year, I want  to write some reflections on perspective…how we see things and perceive things, and how we might grow by being open to seeing things in new ways.

I have been pondering this a bit, then woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning with many thoughts racing through my mind, and specifically a certain children’s book which I have not looked at in years.  I had to get up and start writing! In spite of the fact that I don’t want to get out of bed yet, I really love it when this happens because it is something that comes bubbling up from within me rather than something I specifically search for or plan.  It involves setting my heart and mind toward God and trusting that in often mysterious ways, God brings new perspective, new understanding, and nudges me when the time is NOW.

“Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

The children’s book that came to my mind is “Peeka the Traffic Light”, text by Tadashi Matsui and pictures by Shinta Cho.  My son received this book as a gift when he was 3 years old and it was my favorite book to read with him.  I think this was because it opened both our eyes to new perspective through the personification of a traffic light.  Here is Peeka..

And we also saw life in a different place and different culture…Tokyo, capital of Japan, biggest city in the world.  There were even a couple of phrases which I had to try to say in Japanese.  It was fun, and we both would always laugh at my attempt at this language.  I found the best way for me was to just proclaim it boldly, like I knew what I was doing.  Just live into it bravely!  You might want to try it?

We know that there is a certain pace, timing, and sequence to the life of Peeka the traffic light which allows Peeka and his surrounding world to function well…Green, Yellow, Red…Go, Wait, Stop.  But as the city gets more crowded and noisy, something happens:  “Green, yellow, red. Green, yellow, GREEN?  Red, yellow, RED? Green, yellow, YELLOW?  Red, yellow, RED?  Oh my!  Everything is mixed up.  Has Peeka been working too hard?  He seems to be getting dizzy!” What results is a traffic jam.

Wires inside Peeka need to be jiggled and then Peeka becomes his old self again.  The perspective for me here is the need for balance in my life between the three lights of GO, WAIT, STOP.  This balance provides the structure for love, creativity, freedom, justice, giving and receiving.  “For everything there is a season”…a good perspective for a new year!

Questions to ponder…

What is it in my life that can easily get out of balance?

Which part of the light might be most difficult for me -GO, WAIT, STOP?

What helps to balance?

nk