A Time of Wonder

I have just returned from a trip to Chattanooga and Nashville Tennessee and am still pondering and appreciating the gift of this time away.

I was accompanying Audrey who is part of a 12 person running team doing a 200 mile relay from Chattanooga to Nashville.  While she was running in the some cold weather, I was exploring interesting places in Chattanooga and then enjoying nice meals on the road.

All day Friday I kept thinking this is a day of wonders.  We saw Ruby Falls which is an underground waterfall on Lookout Mountain.  Words cannot describe this trip of walking through caverns and seeing the beauty of stalactites and stalagmites and the falls were just breathtaking.  In the afternoon we went to Rock City with massive rock formations and panoramic views.  It was amazing.

The wonders also continued just in being part of the community that surrounded this race.  The 12 runners took two vans and supported each other in this very daunting task.  They joined a hundred other teams and watching everyone come in at the end was really inspiring. 

On Sunday Audrey and I went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and - even though I am not usually listening to country music - I greatly appreciate the creativity of the artists who were celebrated there.  Always, it is fascinating to see the different ways that people live their lives and use their gifts and this was time well spent.

So, I am home again and ready to think about preaching this Sunday and being present to God as I continue to live my own life of wonder.  I think I will end this with a fragment from a poem by Wendell Berry that I received from the Geography of Grace Class.

What We Need Is Here

Geese appear high above us.
pass, and the sky closes.  Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
Them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith; what we need
is here.  And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear.  What we need is here.