Yesterday Ruth had a dental appointment at 10:30 but we decided we could work in a paddle before this always popular event. We drove north of Belleville to a spot only 15 minutes away by vehicle and put in our canoe for the first paddle of the season.
The Moira River is still high and fast but probably a metre and a half lower than at flood peak. The photo below is by Joe Culp, but it looks a lot like the section we paddled yesterday, although his image is from the Fall.
We worked up against the current, away from highway 37, into the chorus of birdsong. There were lots of midges, but that means squadrons of swallows feeding on them. We passed a couple of glades of trilliums which simply made my heart glad. The pale green of emerging leaves is a colour specific to Spring in Canada and was so encouraging.
We saw a blue heron tucked into grasses along the shore and finally it took to squawking flight, unable to trust our approach any longer. A little further on a muskrat groomed itself on a tussock of vegetation in the middle of the river. The rapids which were a couple of kilometres north of our put-in point roared rather than rippled, and were almost unrecognizable compared to midsummer.
We savoured all of this, a Sabbath for me because Sunday morning is simply not a time when I can rest and worship. I spoke on Good Shepherd Sunday of the importance of "the flock" and the experience of joining together as Christ's people for many reasons. I'm convinced that this is true, but I love time outside, in the equivalent of green pastures and still waters which restore my soul.
Bye the way, our early start had us back in Belleville before 10:00.
Any thoughts and comments about your experience of worshipful ventures into creation?
I have found that some of my deepest encounters with the transcendent have come through some sense or experience of the immanence within creation. This experience simply cannot be eclipsed by any structures or sterile, artificial environments created by humans.
ReplyDeleteI think that so much of the gospel message is the simple and immanent presence of the divine in our lives. It is our task to seek out those places where we can commune with that presence with adoration and awe.
So well said Frank. Thank you.
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