For a couple of years I wrote a blog for the Central Christian Church (Dallas, TX). Since I am no longer their pastor and they may not continue to post them indefinitely, I have reposted them as a unit here. I have adopted as a metaphor for my life the image of Abraham living in tents as a foreigner in the land God had promised him. (Hebrews 11:9-10) It inspires me to a light, flexible, portable life. I want to cherish every moment, possession, location, relationship as a gift to be held loosely, with generosity and gratitude. It protects me from clinging to the transitory while savoring the present. It calls me to a journey with unanticipated twists and turns that still leads to a secure destination. It tunes me to the voice of God, constantly coaxing me toward the presence of Christ. These entries are the field notes of my pilgrimage. You are invited to respond from your own journey.
Sami family in front of a traditional Sami tent, circa 1900.
Survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake living in tents.
These photos are not Abraham’s nomadic tent, nor are they the sort of tents with which I have camped. However, they each connect to my family’s roots. The photo on top is from Lapland. My paternal grandfather came from Lapland at the north end of Sweden. Though he was a Swede and not Sami, he lived among them. The photo on the bottom is contemporaneous with the family living in a tent after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. My maternal grandmother lived in Oakland, California at the time of the quake and helped care for the displaced residents of San Francisco. In the faces in these photos I see my own face and the face of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment