Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
The world is passing away, and the lust of it. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain;
he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.
I want you to be without care.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
The LORD of peace Himself give you peace always in every way.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Daily Light
John 14:27, 1 John 2:17
Psalm 39:6, Rom. 6:21
Luke 10:41-42, 1 Cor. 7:32, John 16:33, 2 Thess. 3:16, Numbers 6:24-26
Yesterday in the Woods... (May 17/09)
I have read, of late, about the beauty of learning 'in creation.' We have always taken this for granted, living in a forest in Holstein , but had become concerned about a new phenomena which I had recently read. About how some children now suffer from nature deficit disorder - not knowing what a tadpole is - or at least never seeing one, not experiencing nature - not knowing what goes on in a forest...
Yesterday, our whole family opted to go for a bike ride - that in itself was marvelous to me - as our children span from age 7 to 16. To admit that it is sometimes challenging to participate in activities that engage all of them, simultaneously, would be an understatement. So, it was a mini-Mother-miracle - one of those 'feel-good' moments about life in general. Our family doing something together - without any child having to be bribed, threatened, or coerced.
I started off while the others adjusted brakes, donned helmuts, complained about the cold - it was brisk, thank goodness Rod advised mittens - he knows I'm a wimp about the cold.
Just up the road about 500 metres, I looked into the forest and saw the banks of trilliums that had beckoned each time I had driven down the road this time of year. I decided to take a walk through the woods to see if I could spy any of the rarer pink variety. As I waded through the leaves, and undergrowth, I came upon carpet of young ferns that separated me from a beautiful bank of pink trilliums. I was stepping over the ferns, so as not to hinder their growth when I nearly brought down my foot upon a patch of fur. My first instinct was to assume it was the 'pelt' or 'hide' of a fox- obviously dead. I withdrew in horror as I also assumed it would be in some state of decomposition. After recoiling, I took a chance at having a closer look.
The 'pelt' was the dappled back of a young fawn, nestled down on the bed of leaves amongst the ferns. I was amazed at the young animal's ability to remain oblivious to the elements, and the sound of me crashing through its environment - almost to the point of considering if it were alive. I still was not certain - it lay so still - when the rest of the McC connection arrived. I called to them, and Morgan and Eli came willingly, Noah just wanted to get on with it. I explained he was about to 'miss something extraordinary.'
They all came, commissioned to be 'quiet' which is a feat given the state of the forest at this point in the spring - dry branches and leaves do not make stealthy hunters of us. Ford came crashing, and then stopped in his tracks as he witnessed the extraordinary.
Morgan pulled out her cell-phone and began to take pictures - something rather unusual given the 'setting' but we all, for that brief moment realized we were seeing a miracle. A baby fawn hidden away in the forest not far from our home.
Ford cautioned that the mother wouldn't be happy about the 'human scent' we were leaving (this from my boy who wants to attain a license in order to kill said creatures). We continued on our path - with questions about whether the creature was abandoned, weakened, ill, injured.
I returned to the woods an hour later and found the fawn awake, and approached cautiously, quietly. It didn't appear at all frightened, and I was relieved to see that it did not appear injured. I spoke to it gently, but did not touch. It just stared at me.
Knowing this was a small miracle, I returned home to retrieve the camera. I was able to take only 2 photos when the fawn became frightened, and bolted away, its young legs wobbly, and gangly, but operational. This relieved my conscience, as I had begun to wonder what I would need to 'google' if this creature's mother had not returned to it, and it was indeed abandoned and we were to become surrogate parents.
I thank God for that miracle of yesterday, and realized that my home too, is nestled safely in His hand. I needed this reassurance yesterday, and today.
