Saturday, May 13, 2017

Happy Birthday, Phil Kiper!

Phil caught these walleye at
Tims Ford this spring.

Today we are spending another birthday apart since Phil is already in Canada for the summer.  I will be joining him in June.  I decided to share a piece inspired by him as I am so thankful for many things he adds to my life every day.

My friend Corrina is heading up an effort to write daily devotions for people hiking the Appalachian Trail.  In order to give people a taste of what this would be like and get them on board for this project, she has asked several friends to write pieces with Lake Junaluska (a Methodist retreat center) in mind.  She had a list of sites from around and about the property and each of us was supposed to select one.  Having never been there myself, I chose the lake... because I've spent a lot of time sitting beside a lake.

The other ideas in this piece come from conversations I've had with Phil about what fishing means to him, how he thinks about it, and the challenge it is for him physically, mentally, even spiritually.

Here is the devotional:

I have spent many hours sitting beside a lake and wondering at its beauty.  I revel in the shimmering reflection of the sunlight upon the water.  I enjoy the cool breeze that wafts my way.  I like the adventure of paddling along the surface in a canoe or on a paddleboard.  As I sit gazing at the water I see the head of a turtle emerge, or I hear the “plip” of a fish snatching a bug off the top of the water.  I see the ripples emanating from the spot, and it reminds me that there is much more going on here in this place than I can see from the surface. 

There is a whole world below the surface of the water.  A world where creatures are born and live out their lives.  A world where life and death battles take place every hour of every day.  A world hidden to our eyes.  It is a world that is alive and active whether we are tuned in to it or not.

My husband is a fisherman, and he focuses on the hidden world below the surface.  His boat is equipped with electronics that allow him to look for fish in the depths of the lake.  Because he has invested so much time in fishing, he has learned where the fish are, what weather will provide the best conditions for fishing, and what baits work to attract the type of fish in that particular area.  And because he knows all these things, he has become a very good guide and has been able to give many friends the best fishing experience of their lives. 

In the same way, there is a spiritual world that remains hidden to many people throughout their lives.  It is just as alive and active as the physical world in which we live, but unless people choose to see it, it will remain unknown and unexplored.  Our job as spiritual people, as spiritual guides, is to tune people in to this other reality.  Just as my husband guides people to explore and engage the world below the surface of the water, we are to help them see the clues and read the signs that reveal God’s work and purpose in the spiritual world. 

In order to do this, we must invest our time and effort in learning for ourselves how God works and reveals Himself to us.  We must develop the conditions that allow us to experience God in the circumstances of our own lives. And as we do this, we will be equipped to guide people to experience the invisible spiritual world in which God is always fully present and accessible in a meaningful way.



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