In Celebration of Webb

I am in total awe of the images revealed this week by the amazing new space telescope, Webb. Actually, to be more accurate, I am in total awe of the God who gave us the ability to create and launch it….all with astounding success!

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Gen 1:26

For those of you who read scripture, have you ever wondered who God was with? “Let us….”? Who is the “us” in this scripture?

The Trinity. One in Three. God is the Master Craftsman. God is also the Word made flesh: Jesus, and God is also the Holy Spirit. Three distinct forms of the one God. Kind of like water: rain, fog and ice. All contain the same essence. Together in beginning….. at least this is my simpleton’s way of trying to understand that which can’t be understood by our limited and finite minds.

We also have three distinct aspects to our being. We have a mind which gives us the ability to create; the mind of God. We also have a body; God incarnate as Jesus- the Word made flesh. And we have a soul which is where our spirit dwells; the Holy Spirit.

So here we are now at this point in time, with the ability to see photos of our universe which, by the way, took only 13 billion light years to travel for us to see. What?? Incomprehensible to this little spec of a humanoid.

“It does not compute, Will Robinson!”

So to get back to us: how is it that the more we discover, the less we believe? We forget that we did not create the world, the universe or ourselves. We did not create the brain that allows us to achieve these phenomenal accomplishments. Sadly, we forget our humble beginnings and begin to believe we are gods. A dangerous thing to believe when we lack the love needed to be responsible creators. Dangerous for all of the life on this planet. And beyond.

The following is a loose quote by someone who was very instrumental in my journey to belief- Francis Collins, geneticist and former director of the National Institute for Health.*

“If God gave us this amazing ability to create, to explore and discover the world and how it works, should we not use that ability and in the process of carrying out scientific discoveries, become more in awe– not less, of the One who has endowed us with this incredible gift?”

But we humans have an astonishing capacity to forget- ask any alcoholic who has repeated “the experiment” of controlled drinking only to find him/her self drunk once again. Complete with all the horrendous consequences; over and over and over. I, myself, have repeated this experiment far too many times to enumerate. The moment we begin to feel better can signal the beginning of a period of extreme danger. Proceed with caution.

Pray for humility.

Just a morning rambling from a grateful sober human.

Thanks be to God.

*Francis Sellers Collins is an American physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He is the former director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, from 17 August 2009 to 19 December 2021, serving under three presidents, and for over thirteen years.

Yes to Sobriety: 5 Years

I’ve been struggling with whether to take down WTW or not. It’s been a year since my last post and somehow 5 years seems an ideal time to either renew my commitment to posting or……. let it go. Move on and stop struggling. Let go of the struggle. Yes.

The summer solstice and my sobriety date arrive together every year as both occur on the 21st of June. What a gift! Right now the catbirds, robins, Carolina wrens (one in particular) and a host of other magnificent winged creatures are serenading me into the morning. I look through the window to a world, no- a paradise really, of astounding beauty. The view is of the Falls River, actually the Mill Pond, a section of the river. Mist rising over the water, created by by the early morning sun and cool night temps inspires a prayer. Great blue herons, red-shouldered hawks, osprey, fisher cats, coyotes, and even a bear make their home with me here. I am a naturalist at heart. And a lover of the Creator of this world.

But as I sit here this morning, my sense of immense gratitude and joy gives way to an aching sadness and despair for the senseless destruction, the killing and the pain we inflict on one another and on this beautiful nest of ours. The world I have been blessed to wake up to every day bears little resemblance to the world in which the majority of people who inhabit this globe call home. Seriously.

“Most people in the world live in poverty. 85% of the world lives on less than $30 per day, two-thirds live on less than $10 per day, and every tenth person lives on less than $1.90 per day.“

I’ve read somewhere that we (modern man) have developed in such a way as to become the only species that destroys the very things that sustain its life.

I believe we are in the process of de-evolution. What else could explain the state we find ourselves in? De-evolution of the heart and brain… the heart is the seat of compassion and our brains give us the ability to think and reason. What else could explain the images and stories that bombard us every day?

We seemed to be doing so well. For a few years, anyway. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention……

I’ve thought a lot during these last few years. Thought about what I’ve done. And what I’ve left undone. As a result of this deep work, I have made a decision to give the remaining years of my life to God and to serve others. I’ve had a lifetime of serving myself and I believe our own self-serving greed is a large part, if not all, of the problems our world faces now….. . The tipping point. In every way.

I think I’ll let WTW stay for now but I’ll leave the struggle behind. Seems like a waste of energy and silly struggle when there is much good work to be done.

Thanks be to God for the gift of sobriety.