Radnor Lake State Park

Work Is Love Made Visible

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“Work is love made visible” (Kahlil Gibran).

That one little sentence jumped off the page at me while I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of Radnor Lake State Park.

There’s so much profound depth in those five words that both comfort and convict.

How can my work be love made visible if I come to it with a bitter attitude and an ungrateful heart? How can I be loving in my actions and yet hateful toward others at the same time?

The truth of the matter is that all work can and should be sacred. All work is an act of worship. The question is whether it will be like Abel’s acceptable offering or Cain’s rejected offering.

Work is part of my witness. If I see my vocation as a way to serve others either directly or indirectly, then even the menial parts of my job take on a whole new meaning. There is no wasted effort, nothing meaningless. All of it means something if I do it out of love for God and for others.

The Bible says that whatever you do– whether you’re a lawyer, doctor, plumber, or a janitor– do it all to the glory of God. Do everything as an act of worship to show forth the goodness of God to those you work with and those you work for.

I love what Kahlil Gibran says next:

“And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night”

Things Everyone Should Have (or Do)

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I’ve decided there are a few necessary things everyone should have in order to make their lives better. No, you won’t cease to exist without any of these, but they do make your existence (particularly on Mondays) more bearable:

  1. Everyone needs a place to escape. My place is Radnor Lake State Park. It’s as close as I’ll probably ever get to Middle Earth this side of Heaven. It’s hard to believe this panacea is probably about 10 miles from where I live.
  2. Everyone needs a geriatric pet who loves to cuddle. I’m partial to my 16-year old feline, but I love older dogs as well. It’s nice to have a furry friend to come home to.
  3. Everyone needs some good music for the road. You may let the radio do the picking for you, but I prefer the path less travelled. I have my vast CD collection and (on occasion) a considerable playlist on my iPhone.
  4. Everyone needs a good novel. Right now, what I’m reading doesn’t technically fall under the category of novel, but it’s worthwhile reading nonetheless. I’m working through Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
  5. Everyone needs a good shower. I prefer mine in the morning to help me wake up, but I’m all for those who like a steaming hot shower just before bed. Either way works for me.
  6. Everyone needs something bigger than themselves to believe in and hold on to. I choose Jesus because He’s the only one strong enough to keep all the pieces of my world in orbit and hold me together.
  7. Everyone needs chocolate. Or vanilla if you’re one of those weird people who don’t like chocolate. The end.

Return to Radnor

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I returned to Radnor Lake State Park. Sure, it was hot and sticky. Combine that with my propensity for sweating and the result is usually not pretty. But I didn’t care.

I was in my Walden Pond. I was in my safe haven.

I trekked down my favorite trail and then added about an hour’s worth of walking. I put in about 2 1/2 hours of walking, totaling just under 6 miles. I should sleep good tonight.

My favorite part is the silence. I don’t mean the total and complete absence of sound but the absence of the usual noise and clamor I hear for the greater part of my day. All I heard around me were the subtle sounds of nature.

The thought occurred to me as I was walking that the silence around me was sacred and to disturb it would be profane. So many people in this day and age are almost afraid of silence, filling their lives with nonstop noise and ceaseless clamor. I believe that silence can be the empty space where the words of God fill in, where my heart is finely tuned to hear what He’s been saying to me all along in all my busyness, hustle and bustle, ceaseless clanging noise.

I didn’t see as many critters this time. Perhaps they’re just as weary of the heat and humidity as I am. Maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right places. I’ve been known to not always be the most observant person.

I’m still game for living in Thoreau’s Walden Pond, even if that means taking a break from all things electronic. Some days, I could use that break to restore my calm.

PS I got my steps in (and then some). I ended up with 22,245 steps, or about 9.87 miles. No wonder my feet hurt.

 

Lost!

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Today, my friend and I hiked through Radnor Lake State Park. I love that place, primarily because I feel like it’s a place where you can still be in Nashville but feel like you’re stepping into another world. To me, it feels a lot like Middle Earth and I always feel like a hobbit out on a quest whenever I go there.

This time, I flashed back to a less pleasant memory. I went back to when I was a Boy Scout at my first Boy Scout Camp in Arkansas. I vividly recall that I went walking by myself and got incredibly turned around and lost.

Yes, I was that Boy Scout who got lost at Boy Scout camp.

I remember being absolutely terrified and panicky. At that moment, I felt sure I wasn’t ever going to find my troop or anyone else I knew ever again. It was not a good moment.

Then there have been times when I got lost in a very good way.

I can remember times when I got so caught up in serving, particularly at Set Free Church, Christian Alliance for Orphans, or Nashville Rescue Mission, that for a precious few moments I forgot about me and all my issues. I got so completely lost in what I was doing that I had no time to overthink and overanalyze what was going on in my life.

C. S. Lewis once said that the perfect worship service would be the one you were completely unaware of. You wouldn’t be able to recall what the songs you sung were or what the sermon was about. You would only know that God had shown up.

May we live our lives in such a way that we lose ourselves and only remember that God showed up. Maybe then one day we will find out much later that those were the times when God did His best work in and through us.

 

Radnor Lake and the Sovereignty of God

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I ended up back at Radnor Lake State Park. This time I walked with a friend and we both chose one of the more difficult trails. Halfway though, I was seriously huffing and puffing like the fat hobbit from The Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t pretty.

When I was able to catch my breath and take in my surroundings, I was reminded again how very small I am in the grand scheme of things. I am a vapor and a mist in the perspective of eternity.

How dare I make myself or my feelings the standard by which I judge all other things? How dare I question God when He acts contrary to how I in my very finite wisdom think He should act?

A theology based on my feelings will be a very unsteady one. If anything I read in the Bible or hear from someone disturbs my equanimity, I dismiss it out of hand. I will end up with a very vague and toothless doctrinal system that has all the form of godliness but none of the transformational power. I end up with a gospel that is not the Gospel at all.

When I read my Bible and something offends my sensibilities, perhaps the error lies within me. Maybe I’m the one who needs to change. It could be that I need to step back and look through a much larger lens at the grand story authored by God that is unfolding in and around me.

Nature has a way of reorienting me when I get my priorities out of whack. Being out among the trees has a way of reminding me that I’m not the one calling the shots and running the show. I didn’t make any of it and I don’t sustain any of it. God did (and still does) it all.

Nature is so much more patient than I am. I am most thankful that God remains unceasingly patient with me through all my selfishness and fear and doubt.

 

Back to Radnor

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Sometimes, you just need to get back to nature. There’s an almost irresistible urge to get away from everything mechanized and electronic and just commune with God’s creation.

For me, that was the urge and Radnor Lake State Park was once again the place to go to  satisfy that craving. It had been far too long since the last time I actually hiked there.

Almost immediately, I felt my blood pressure lowering and my anxiety levels bottoming out. Not that I was overly stressed, but any normal working day carries with it some amount of stress and worry.

I read somewhere that if you have trouble sleeping, the best way to reset your internal clock is to spend a week away from everything electronic and digital. For most of us, that’s not exactly the most practical solution.

I do think that even an hour or two can be beneficial to resetting your mental calm. You can actually hear yourself think. Life slows down for that brief period of time. Everything that seemed so pressing and urgent fades into the background for a little while.

I love it. I don’t know why I don’t go there more often.

The extra added benefit is that I got at least half of my 10,000 steps there. I walked until I was weary. But it was a good kind of weary that usually leads to a good night’s sleep.

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to live that way all the time. You hear all the time that the best nutrition is to eat foods as close to the way God made them as possible. I wonder if we could learn to live as close to nature as possible if we wouldn’t be healthier– and not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

Anyway, I recommend Radnor Lake if you’re ever in the area. It’s good for your soul.

 

Radner Lake and Henry David Thoreau

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image When was the last time you paused and stood absolutely still and silent for one minute? When was the last time you went to a place of solitude and did nothing more than listen to the quiet? I walked my favorite trail at Radnor Lake State Park again today. Even after so many times, it still feels like I’m leaving Middle Tennessee for Middle Earth. I feel like I could be Frodo Baggins out for a hike in the Shire. image When I stood still, I could hear nature all around me. Leaves rustling, birds singing, wind humming. Even myself thinking. I think God speaks loudest to me in the quiet. When I’m still and my brain isn’t racing with 9,956 tabs open at the same time. Like He did with Elijah, God often chooses to speak through a still, small voice that won’t compete with all the noise and clamor around us. image I can hear that Voice when I’m at Radnor Lake and when I’m sitting in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church or when I’m laying in bed late at night. I confess I’m still not very good at listening. I’m still too impatient and easily distracted. If I try to be still, immediately I think of something I need to do or a note I need to write. Complete stillness is so unnatural for me. For all of us.

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I need to get out more. And by out, I mean to these quiet places with no flashing neon lights or constant noise. Sometimes I think I could be like Mr. Thoreau and find myself a Walden Pond to visit for a while. Yeah, that’d be nice.

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The Road Goes Ever On and On

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A hiking trail at Radnor Lake State Park

A friend and I went hiking in Radnor Lake State Park. We took the Ganier Ridge trail, which is a bit more difficult but also more rewarding for the scenery and wildlife.

As I was walking, my mind immediately went to the scene in the first Lord of the Rings movie where Frodo and his companions set off on their quest. I almost felt like a hobbit as I walled down the wooded trail.

I also remembered how the movies were great, but the books were so much better because there’s just so many themes the movies never really delved into. Such as how the present age was passing away and a new one was coming. Regardless of whether Frodo succeeded in destroying the One Ring, so much would be lost forever.

Life is like that. As much as we try to hold on to things and people and places, we end up losing them.

You can choose to be saddened by the loss. Or you can choose to use what time you’re given wisely and make the most of these things and people and places while you have them.

But really, when you think about it, do we ever lose anything? Didn’t Jesus say that whoever suffered loss for the sake of the Kingdom, whoever made sacrifices and said goodbyes would receive a 1000 times what they lost in the life to come?

So maybe we never really do say goodbye at all. Maybe it’s more of a “See you later.”

All that from one nature walk. I really should get back to this place more often.

Aside from the heat and humidity, it was a perfect walk. Well, more humidity than heat. I’m a wimp when it comes to heat.

I’ll also have to make a point to re-read The Lord of the Rings sometime in the very near future.