Nova Scotia - Week ?? - Time

Time, Time is something I have been thinking about a lot lately; something that i never seem to have enough of. These thoughts have been incited these in different ways.

As the spring weather warms the soil here in Nova Scotia, one of the beautiful surprises that are popping up everywhere are daffodils. Daffodils bring me back to my childhood in BC. Our farm was surrounded by bush, creeks, and gullies; our own little paradise to grow up. Amongst all this was one patch of daffodils. Each spring we would rediscover this patch, watch them grow, bloom, and eventually pick and bring the flowers home. My childhood is filled with many precious memories, but even at a young age I wanted to grow up. There is something about being young that makes you desire to be older; a preschooler desires to go to school; younger children often emulate or imitate their older siblings, much to their siblings dismay, even at our age many people look forward and plan for retirement.  But this trend struck me, when I heard the Bryan Adams song: The Best was yet to Come. What if the best has already come? From where I sit, looking back, If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this: Don’t wait for the best to come, choose to live as if today is the best time of your life.   

This week was Mary Ann’s birthday, her 33^rd I think. Her first and best birthday in Nova Scotia. In this setting we were reflecting on what were we doing last year? Last year, (so we thought, actually it was two years ago) I flew to BC with two friends to look for a piece of land for a … you guessed it – a campground.  It is amazing the twists and turns that life takes you. A year ago we had no idea what our future had in store  Sitting in on shores of the Bay of Fundy celebrating a birthday with old/new/good friends was something we could not have imagined a year ago. Spending an hour and half at the bay of Fundy we were finally awed by the world renowned tide. When we arrived there was a land bridge to two small islands where the seals where sunning themselves, in 90 short minutes not only was the land bridge immersed, but so where both islands; amazing to think that the tide was still rising for another 3 hours. This cycle continues twice a day everyday – millions upon millions gallons.

A seal basking in the sun

Same island 90min later

We ended the day watching the sun set. It set slowly, but once the water met up with the sun it sunk below the waves in seconds. Time has a way creeping on each one us quicker then we like, thankfully the author of time has already our story written.    

  

Nova Scotia: Easter Sunday

Today is Easter, a quiet and reflective Sunday afternoon. I try to guard my mind from the ever daunting amount of tasks that need to be done. The 8 inches of snow that have and continue to fall make that an easier task today as there is little else I can do. This morning we got up early to attend a sunrise service on the Bay of Fundy; thankfully there was room enough inside to protect us from the spring storm. The wind and pounding waves outside were a good reminder of the peace and security we have because of Easter, despite the storms that continue to batter our lives. This was especially real as our host just recently lost his wife to cancer.  

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, beginning with an awesome time with  Mary Ann’s (and mine) three friends from Lacombe, a quit trip to Alberta, spending time with Ashley and Tyler – awesome, a wedding, time spent with extended family, an overnight flight back home and back to all the unfinished tasks that persistently beckon me.

Every time I fly two thoughts generally occupy my thoughts. First, I am always so fascinated that the massive structure of steel and metal, that I am sitting in, flies. Think about it: You take this enormous “tin can”, add tonnes of “live weight”, adjust some flaps on the metal wings which happen to filled with explosive fluid, thrust it forward in a relatively short span, and “vala”  it leaves the ground and flies. An incredible feat of technology and science which man has merged together over time to create something which today has become the norm. Flying is still one of humanities greatest accomplishments. It’s become a marvel that is so common place that it is rarely appreciated, until something goes awry.

The second thought that always preoccupies my thoughts is how quickly objects become minute and insignificant. People become invisible, cars become specks, villages dots, and towns and cities quickly become objects of an identification guessing game. The question from Psalm 8 rings in my ear: “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?” I find myself so fascinated that each speck,  each car, each house, is filled with someone who has a story. Someone who has cares, concerns and experiences that are very real and important to them. A story or journey being created and lived out in each individual as I fly over unbeknownst to all but the careful observer who happens to glance upward.   

In a matter of minutes two completely opposed views of humanity occur; the significance and the insignificance. For most of our lives we are the unassuming specks trying to eke out an existence, yet we think that God should be at our beck and call – each of us thinking that my needs, my wants, my comforts should be at the foremost of God’s attention.  What is more fascinating that God even cares. Doesn’t Easter bring out this same contrasting view, displaying God’s incredible love and value for an insignificant spec, such as you and I?

Happy Easter – Never stop marveling!

HJK