Sacred Connections: Water
The other night I noticed I had missed a call a few minutes earlier from my son in Utah, so I quickly tried to call him back. When he answered I could hear the distinct sound of water nearby. I asked if I were catching him at a bad time, and he said “No, not at all. I’m glad you called back.” Yet the sound of water persisted in the background. Not being much of a multi-tasker myself, I was finding myself feeling a little irritated. I inquired, “Are you doing the dishes?” And he indicated he was not. We talked for several more minutes about the experiences of the day while I still wondered to myself, “What is he doing?”. And then he said, “Oh wow, there’s a big blue heron that just landed right ahead.” In that instant, everything changed.
I said joyfully, “You’re on the reservoir!” He responded, “Yes, it’s beautiful this evening.” The reservoir is about ten miles from his home, in the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City. It has become one of my favorite places on earth. And in difficult times, it remains my “go to place” in my mind – a place of natural beauty, burgeoning life, peace, tranquility. A place I share with people I love. My heart was so touched and full at the realization that he had reached out to me from his kayak on the reservoir, wanting to share his time there with me. And soon there’s a cacophony of sound as a raven is concerned about the presence of the heron. And we switch to FaceTime so that I can see the heron myself, as he paddles to follow it as it goes from tree to tree along the shore. The sound of water was no longer an irritant, it was pure gift and grace.
Earlier this week, a beloved young member of our Redeemer community, Eleanor Flodder, was going in for surgery on her ear. Wanting her to have something tangible as a sign of God’s love and the love and support of this community, especially in this time of physical distancing, we had blessed a pink Prayer Bear for her and had left it on her porch. Eleanor was so touched by that bear, created by Betsy Berry in our knitting ministry. She told her mom, Kelley, “I love people, I can’t believe they did this for me.” Eleanor slept with the bear that night, and it accompanied her to surgery the next morning. It is still with her now as she heals. Kelley shared that when she had awakened Eleanor that first night post-surgery for medicine, she had run water to wash Eleanor’s hands. Eleanor said, “So that’s what water sounds like?” Beautiful encouraging words of healing already begun. God’s love and our love for each other abound.
So that’s what water sounds like? When is the last time any of us have listened to the sound of water, or the sound of a boisterous bird, or the other sounds around us, with fresh ears and open, inquisitive minds? Our worlds may feel overly confining these days, and yet there is so much beauty. We can be open to the miracle of water, and nature, and all God’s children, each in their unique beauty and belovedness. We can allow ourselves to vicariously visit places we love through the generosity of loved ones who reach out to us from afar. We can allow absent loved ones to accompany us vicariously if we are the adventurers. Wherever we are, we can be open to the grace-filled invitation to share God’s love in the immediacy of our lives today.
