The River of Life

Revelation 22:1-5 (The Passion Translation): Eden Restored

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, flowing with water clear as crystal, continuously pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The river was flowing in the middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river was the Tree of Life, with its twelve kinds of ripe fruit according to each month of the year. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations. And every curse will be broken and no longer exist, for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there in the city. His loving servants will serve him; they will always see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more. They will never need the light of the sun or a lamp, because the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever!

 Sometimes I’m very much aware of God’s presence in my life and the world. Other times, God seems distant, and I struggle to remember what God’s presence feels like. This morning was one of those times. I sat outside saying my usual morning prayers, trying to stay in the moment with the birds around me and the cat keeping a watchful eye.

It wasn’t working. I kept finding my mind off on adventures in the land of potential futures – both exciting and depressing. Each time I noticed my mind had wandered, I turned back to the moment – my seat on the chair, warm cup of tea in my hands, gentle breeze stirring the leaves and colorful pinwheels I’ve stuck in my yard…. Noticing things in the here and now allows me to notice God with me – usually. But not today. Today, it felt like I was alone.

So, I turned to God and called out – where are you? Why do you feel like a figment of my imagination? Please show yourself. Remind me of your presence. Let me notice you and let me trust whatever you show me.

Nothing happened, but that didn’t upset me because I know that I often must wait.

I was reminded of the yoga mat I’d placed on the grass nearby. This seemed like an unwanted distraction, but what the heck? Nothing was happening in my chair, so I finished my tea, went over to the mat and began to stretch. Soon I was on my back swinging my legs in circles and listening to my hip pop when I looked up. The sky was overcast with low grey clouds. They seemed completely uninteresting until I noticed something.

Most of the clouds were perfectly still in a typical overcast way – except for the wide band of clouds immediately above me. Those were moving swiftly from West to East. Here the clouds were being carried by the wind like a river through the rest of the clouds. The motion was striking even though it was grey on grey. Though the clouds were low and moving fast, there was very little wind where I sat. Occasional tendrils of wind spun off and rustled the treetops nearby. Some tiny gusts brushed the pinwheels giving them a good spin and then leaving them still. For the most part, my world was still, but looking up – away from the world I’d focused upon, I could see the wind in action and realize the small ways it touched my immediate surroundings.

But laying there on my back, none of this meant anything to me. I asked God to tell me what it meant and got nothing, so I finished my stretching and went back inside the house to begin my day.

Before beginning my workday, I checked my email and found an unexpected story from a friend of mine. She described a recent encounter with a homeless man. It was a beautiful story of her paying attention to the Spirit and responding even though she was unsure at the time. The man was thirsty, and she got him water. He was hungry and she helped him find a place to eat. He was lonely and dejected, and she showed him compassion. He told her that she was the first nice person he had encountered in a long time.

Reading this story, I saw that my friend and this man were caught up in the Spirit of God – pulled together and responding to one another. Even though I couldn’t feel it, God’s river continued to flow fast just above me – reaching out and touching people and things all around me.

I was humbled and grateful to be reminded of God’s continuous presence – whether I can feel it or not. I was reminded to look up – beyond myself to see God working in and through other people and in the world around me. God’s river of love and compassion runs through the world, and we are caught up in it. Sometimes we are in the main flow of it and other times we are caught off on the side in an eddy. It’s easy to lose ourselves or feel stuck. But all we really need to do is look up and out. Pay attention and give thanks when you see where God is busy stirring things up within others. Our relationship with God isn’t just about us. It’s about our relationship within all of God, which means it’s about our relationship with the rest of the world. Thank you to my friend for showing me God today.