Wednesday Wonderings

Spiritual Journaling Through a Lens

Nelson

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781621896456
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

God seeks our attention and relationship in so many ways. Figuring out how to notice, listen, and respond to God as we move through the daily exercises of our life is the stuff of our spiritual journey. For centuries we have practiced and shared some of our favorite and most fulfilling methods for relating with God and allowing that partnership to inform and transform our lives. Some methods work better than others. Probably the best for each of us are ones we tailor to meet our individual needs.In Wednesday Wonderings Gary Nelson invites the reader into his own spiritual journey through the lens of the camera he carries with him. He has experimented with many methods and discovered that the camera lens often provides him one of the best means to notice, listen, and respond to God. The camera offers the opportunity to wonder about life lived in relationship with God and others. Through the process this pastor and pastoral counselor's devotions, called Wednesday Wonderings, offer helpful insights for life and an invitation for all of us to find our own means to wonder.

1

“From the east to the west . . .”

“From the east to the west praise the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 113:3)

From the rising of the sun in the east to its setting in the west we are to be in praise of the Lord. Praising means focused practiced attention to our relationship with the Lord. Praising means more than just saying, “thank you” (although that’s part of it). Praising means living in the awareness that we draw our moment–to–moment essence of life from the one who causes the sun to rise and set. We draw our energy, our hope, our very reason for being from the one who brings light to darkness, order from chaos. If we live in praise of the Lord, we will live in the hope and peace of the Lord. “From the east to the west praise the name of the Lord.”

I pray that God will help me lead a life of praise! How about you?

2

“Be tolerant with one another . . .”

“. . . there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all. You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with one another . . .” (Colossians 3:11–13)



Okay, so it’s easy to notice our differences, but then what do we do with them? Paul made that pretty clear in his letter to early Christians in Colossae. We are to treat each other with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience in an effort to be truly tolerant with one another. 

As I’ve been saying recently, it’s not so much which side of the issue you’re on, but how you treat each other in the debate that will make the difference between community building and community destruction.

There are many critical issues facing our country and world today. Too often I hear us deadlocked not just because of differences of opinion, but rather, because of total intolerance of the other and their opinions. If we are to make progress at solving the myriad of difficulties facing us we must first learn to tolerate one another in the spirit of St. Paul. Then and only then will we build instead of destroy community.

I pray that God will give me the gift to tolerate and cherish others. How about you?

3

“. . . scolded the people . . .”

“Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” (Mark 10:13–14)

The disciples frequently misunderstood Jesus and had to be lovingly corrected by their master. In this case, they were about to hurt children by keeping them away from Jesus. The truth of the matter is that it’s easy to misunderstand and hurt each other as we act out of our misunderstanding.

As I stood at the counter to purchase our tickets for the tour that would take us to the summit of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, the lady helping me said, “Oh you’re going to love it up there. The view is breathtaking and the rye mice are everywhere! There are some that are this big!” She held up her hands to illustrate the eight to ten inch–length of the little creatures. Having traveled to the top of Pike’s Peak a few years ago and seen the small mammals that scampered around the rocks at the top of its summit, I made a mental note to myself to be sure and get some pictures of the hardy little creatures that inhabit the barren wilderness of Mt. Washington’s summit where winds have been clocked at over 200 miles an hour.

As we neared the summit I began my search for the rye mice. When we reached the summit I still had found no rye mice so I spent several minutes photographing the beautiful structures in the picture above. The temperature was only eight degrees at the summit. The tour guide told us that these structures are frozen clouds formed when the moisture of the clouds hanging over the summit condenses and freezes under the direction of the harsh winds.

Having failed in my efforts to photograph the illusive small mammals high atop Mt. Washington, my curiosity was aroused, so when I returned to my laptop I began to search for more information about these rye mice. I was frustrated in my search until I caught a glimpse of a phrase in an article describing the sights at the top of Mt. Washington. It seems that Mt. Washington is known for its spectacular rime ice formations. I misunderstood the ticket agent. I had spent my time disappointingly looking for the illusive rye mice while all along I was taking pictures of the beautiful frozen clouds—the rime ice. 


It’s easy to misunderstand, and if we’re not careful, to hurt each other in our misunderstanding. I pray for understanding as well as the patience and care not to hurt others in my misunderstanding. How about you?

4

“. . . I will fear no evil . . .”

“Even though I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Boo! As soon as I snapped this photo and put in on the computer screen I realized where science fiction writers and Hollywood movie makers get a lot of inspiration—from life right around us. If I blew this wasp out of proportion to one hundred times its normal size it could easily pass as the leading character in a science fiction flick entitled, The Alien Who Ate the Church.

Painful, tragic things happen not just in the movies but also in real life. We struggle, we survive, and we get through. Yet often times it is fear accompanying our difficulties that can hinder or block our efforts to get through by blowing everything out of proportion. Fear can become almost like a secondary infection that accompanies an accidental wound. The initial wound might not be life–threatening but the accompanying infection might take us to an early grave.

I was living with my family and working as a pastoral counselor in the Washington, D.C metro area during the time when the sniper attacks took place. For several weeks the sniper shot and killed several people at various locations including stores, gas stations, schools, and restaurants. It was a terrible situation. A story relating to the shooting was on the TV or in the newspapers almost every day. It finally reached the point where people were beginning to tell me that they were afraid to go out, or afraid to get out of their cars to pump gas. For some the fear of the sniper was driving them into seclusion or stressing them out. Their fear was blowing everything out of proportion.

I began to remind folks that it was their fear of the sniper that was destroying their lives. I told them that statistically their chances of being killed in a car crash were still higher than being killed by the sniper. I also told them that if every time they turned on their TV there was a little box in the corner of the screen that told them how many folks had died in car crashes that day, some of them would probably let the fear of car crashes keep them from riding in autos ever again.

The stories of the sniper were so present with them in the daily news that they were allowing their fear of the sniper to choke life from them. The good news of the Psalmist is that God is with us, so ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: “From the east to the west . . .”
• Chapter 2: “Be tolerant with one another . . .”
• Chapter 3: “. . . scolded the people . . .”
• Chapter 4: “. . . I will fear no evil . . .”
• Chapter 5: “We urge you, our friends, to warn . . .”
• Chapter 6: “. . . rejected as worthless . . .”
• Chapter 7: “. . . but if . . .”
• Chapter 8: “. . . pruning . . .”
• Chapter 9: “. . . the spiritual gift that is in you . . .”
• Chapter 10: “The light shines in the darkness . . .”
• Chapter 11: “. . . completely amazed . . .”
• Chapter 12: “. . . may your will be done . . .”
• Chapter 13: “. . . shelter and strength . . .”
• Chapter 14: “. . . regard for the law . . .”
• Chapter 15: “Hunger . . .”
• Chapter 16: “. . . It’s poisoned! . . .”
• Chapter 17: “. . . you are worth much . . .”
• Chapter 18: “. . . not alone . . .”
• Chapter 19: “. . . promise . . .”
• Chapter 20: “. . . the water flows . . .”
• Chapter 21: “. . .we cannot deny it . . .”
• Chapter 22: “. . . watch where you are going . . .”
• Chapter 23: “. . . satisfied . . .”
• Chapter 24: “. . . upside down.”
• Chapter 25: “. . . worms . . .”
• Chapter 26: “. . . boldly and without hindrance . . .”
• Chapter 27: “. . . hold on to what is good.”
• Chapter 28: “. . . my plans have failed . . .”
• Chapter 29: “. . . relief . . .”
• Chapter 30: “. . . made completely new . . .”
• Chapter 31: “. . . unfailing love . . .”
• Chapter 32: “. . . in constant pain . . .”
• Chapter 33: “. . . why worry . . .”
• Chapter 34: “. . . keep watch with me . . .”
• Chapter 35: “. . . helped . . .”
• Chapter 36: “The Lord will make sure . . .”
• Chapter 37: “He leads the humble . . .”
• Chapter 38: “. . . swords into plows . . .”
• Chapter 39: “. . . disappears . . .”
• Chapter 40: “. . . I was a stranger . . .”
• Chapter 41: “. . . minds ready for action . . .”
• Chapter 42: “. . . different gifts . . .”
• Chapter 43: “When I look at the sky . . .”
• Chapter 44: “. . . face to face . . .”
• Chapter 45: “. . . trust in you.”
• Chapter 46: “. . . merciful and tender . . .”
• Chapter 47: “. . . depressed . . .”
• Chapter 48: “. . . a dim image in a mirror . . .”
• Chapter 49: “. . . wait . . .”
• Chapter 50: “. . . and little children will take care of them.”
• Chapter 51: “So watch what you do . . .”
• Chapter 52: “. . . endurance . . .”
• Chapter 53: “. . . hide . . .”
• Chapter 54: “. . . I did not reveal before.”
• Chapter 55: “. . . release . . .”
• Chapter 56: “The water is up to my neck . . .”
• Chapter 57: “Go to the Lord for help . . .”
• Chapter 58: “. . . sets you free . . .”
• Chapter 59: “. . . wings like eagles . . .”
• Chapter 60: “. . . walked in darkness . . .”
• Chapter 61: “. . . a fierce storm . . .”
• Chapter 62: “. . . ashamed . . .”
• Chapter 63: “. . . a witness . . .”
• Chapter 64: “. . . liars and deceivers . . .”
• Chapter 65: “. . . will not overwhelm you . . .”
• Chapter 66: “. . . lose my strength . . .”
• Chapter 67: “You never know . . .”
• Chapter 68: “. . . leaving . . .”
• Chapter 69: “. . . hated their brother . . .”
• Chapter 70: “. . . presence . . .”
• Chapter 71: “. . . watching . . .”
• Chapter 72: “. . . at that very moment . . .”
• Chapter 73: “. . . hides . . .”
• Chapter 74: “. . . judge someone else?”
• Chapter 75: “. . . sail across dry land . . .”
• Chapter 76: “Are any among you . . .”
• Chapter 77: “. . . power belongs to him . . .”
• Chapter 78: “. . . grace and peace.”
• Chapter 79: “. . . for the good of others . . .”
• Chapter 80: “. . . fills us with awe.”
• Chapter 81: “. . . death . . .”
• Chapter 82: “. . . imitate . . .”
• Chapter 83: “. . . surprised . . .”
• Chapter 84: “. . . invisible . . .”
• Chapter 85: “. . . unyielding . . .”
• Chapter 86: “. . . turn back . . .”
• Chapter 87: “. . . bar your way . . .”
• Chapter 88: “. . . predict the weather . . .”
• Chapter 89: “. . . my heart is like melted wax.”
• Chapter 90: “What right do you have . . .”
• Chapter 91: “. . . follow their instructions . . .”
• Chapter 92: “. . . and light appeared . . .”
• Chapter 93: “. . . too lazy to plow . . .”
• Chapter 94: “. . . will be your eternal light . . .”
• Chapter 95: “. . . misled by their own opinions . . .”
• Chapter 96: “. . . poured out his abundant grace . . .”
• Chapter 97: “. . . he was lost . . .”
• Chapter 98: “. . . carry my body with you . . .”
• Chapter 99: “. . . a place of safety . . .”
• Chapter 100: “. . . stretch out their hands . . .”
• Chapter 101: “. . . wander off the road . . .”
• Chapter 102: “. . . power over the fish, the birds . . .”
• Chapter 103: “. . . changes rocks into pools of water . . .”
• Chapter 104: “. . . mere mortals . . .”