Quiet Time - in the River

It's May first, and in my part of Alabama, it was about 85 degrees. I have the blessing of living next to a river that is one of the ten cleanest rivers in the nation. Today, for the third time this season, I went swimming. On the first two occasions it was like tempting fate...trying to say it was nice when it was really cold. But today, at 5:30pm, I went swimming and loved it!

Some can't appreciate, but there is a special quiet time with lungs full of hyperventilated oxygen, when lying on the bottom of body of water, holding to a rock so as to not float up...it was a special, quiet time. At that time, I was in a place that few go. There was a sense of weightlessness, a oneness with everything, that goes beyond description. It was...wonderful!

In these times in the river I have a special oneness with nature, a special oneness with all of God's creation, a special oneness that goes beyond description. I've been knocking off early from work this week to be at home in the wilderness, and taking in everything. Tomorrow I may go for a walk in the woods...but today, it was in the river. I lamented the fact that I didn't bring my goggles with me to view the little darters and other minuscule creatures, but that will be remedied next time.

I cannot describe other than to say, at the bottom of the river I was at one with everything wonderful. I was at one with God. When I came out, there were flying insects all around, and I prayed for God to protect me from them, and the buzzing stopped, the trepidations ceased, and I was at one with everything, everything in God's creation.

Words cannot describe, but I type nonetheless. I had a glimpse of it all. I had a moment in the splendor of creation. I was fortunate enough to taste the dew of heaven. WOW! I will carve out more time for more of the same in the days and weeks to come. I come back from these moments invigorated and inspired to share the wonder and the joy of the Kingdom. But I harken back.

In 1984 I was driving with my friend/boss on an interstate highway at the peak of rush hour. He pulled over, got out a camera, and said, "Stop and smell the roses". He took pictures as if he could never take another picture again. I was inspired by that moment, and have never let it go. Can we all stop and smell the roses, in the spring, summer, winter and fall, smell the roses of the beauty of God's creation where it presents itself, regardless of the time or the season?

Today, I had quiet time in the river. In the Tallapoosa River, in Alabama. The water was refreshing, the silence, deafening, and the presence of God abundant. Typing this seems like cheating the moment, but I cannot keep it to myself. May tomorrow be a time of me overflowing with the splendor of today's moments, and magnetic to the point that someone wants to know what this "Jesus stuff" is all about. Because, it is all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, filling me with awe and wonder as to the greatness of The Father's creation. I stand in wonder!

A quiet time in the river...that was today. A quiet time in someones heart tomorrow, that's what I yearn for. May I be sharpened to the opportunity, and emboldened to act, in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for today. It was GREAT!