Sanctuary

A few days ago, I was convinced that I was never going to blog again. Yet, here I am, three days later, doing the very thing I promised I'd never do (thanks particularly to the simple persuasion of my sister and the evident fact that I love to write). And after today, I find that it is too hard to stay away.

Gabby and I are trying to be more intentional with our time that we have left here in Pietermaritzburg. We've lived in this city for 7 months and, yet, we hardly know it. So this morning, we decided to finally get off our lazy bums and go off on an adventure. This morning lead us to the National Botanical Gardens, which is literally right down the road from where we stay, but we've just never made the time to go.

After a solid 20-30 minute walk, we were at the front gate. After we paid the small fee, we were suddenly transformed from the mundane streets to a cathedral of trees. It was breath taking. The trees, which had been planted in 1908, towered over us as we slowly walked through the tunnel of trees.

"This feels like a church," I said to Gabby. I thought about what I said for a moment before I add. "No, this feels like God." Although the natural display of the trees felt very much like an ancient cathedral, I was truly aware this morning that God was walking with us.

As all of you know (a little too well I am afraid), I have been struggling here a lot. But this morning, walking with a good friend among the trees, throughout the gardens, and washing our feet in the stream, I was made aware of that God is beckoning me to God's side. I just haven't been listening very well.

I'm afraid that I've made quite a mess of things. But I am so thankful today that I serve a God who surprises me in the most unexpected places – like outside, in the middle of a garden hidden away in the heart of a city. I often forget how God tends to find me in God's creation. So when I am not meeting God at the kitchen table at the manse, I need to get out of my chair and go outside and say, "Here I am God. Please find me."

And today, I was found amongst the shadows of the mighty tree cathedral. It's about time.