Monday, January 28, 2013

Wavering Rings

Ripples ooze across the pond in such a way as to mimic the murky tar in its depths. It's as if someone just tossed a pebble or a vagrant cloud squeezed a small smattering of rain droplets onto the water's surface. Shock waves ripple from that point of contact and radiate a series of wavering rings. Those points of contact seem to come from nowhere, though. It is an invisible hand that plucks them into action, at least according to my limited sight.

Odoriferous excavation pits at Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, California, have yielded some remarkable finds over the years: the Californian saber-toothed cat, the Columbian mammoth, the dire wolf, et cetera. And yet, when visiting this fascinating destination, I could not help but consider those rippling rings. Near the Observation Pit, where a natural-light well garnered cob-webs, its ornamental grate seemed to imitate the idea of those pond wavers. Imagine being stuck in tar: your body as the point of contact and exerting awkward rings across the water's surface. Without a helping hand, you would not get out. You would feel like the zebra, which Ernest, Fritz, and Roberta of the 1960 film "Swiss Family Robinson" find, caught in dense mud on an uninhabited island.

And yet, how often do we really feel that way in life, friend? There are times when we feel stuck, perhaps in a relationship, in a job, in a habit, in expectations, and with no helping hand. And yet, so often we are too afraid to ask for that helping hand. Our own hubristic perspective quiets the voice, with which we could call out for a friend; it slaps the hand, with which we could reach out for help. Do you feel this way?

If so, know that you are not alone. God cares about you. There are people that you may not know well, yet, but whom God has placed in your life for just such a time. Be brave and be bold and admit that you cannot always do everything yourself. Let others show you the love that you need. 

1 comment:

  1. They remind me of destructive interference when dropping multiple pebbles into the water...

    Very poignant essay, sweety! How true...I wish sometimes that the way out of such moments was simply and clearer.

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