The other day, I was just looking at the map of where our house is in relation to the church. As I was looking I thought, you know what: I bet I could just follow this crick to about here, as I’m pointing and scrolling the map, and then go right and I’ll walk into a cemetery and then head left from there and into the development behind New Hanover Presbyterian!
Well, yesterday Sarah picked me up from church and I left the car there so this morning was the day I was going to hike over to the church. After getting the boys on the bus, I grabbed my backpack and off I went.
Some of you, knowing Virginia better than I do, might already be thinking about some obstacles I might face. For one, I had no idea that Virginia was home to the thorniest of thorny thorn bushes. They caught my shoes, my clothes, they were as tall as me in some places!
Secondly, this was not a crick. This was the Totopotomoy (TUH-TUH-PAHT-UH-MEE) Creeeeeek (the amount of E’s is for how wide and deep it is)! I thought I was going to hop over this thing, instead at its shallowest, I think I ended up ankle deep in water.
Once upon a time, I did an entire sermon on the most important thing you take with you on a through-hike. I know there are a few through hikers here so I’ll wait…. Cue up some Jeopardy music.
Okay, not exactly a walkabout
If you guessed a change of socks, you win the prize. After those two or three obstacles I had a wonderful walk that also gave me a chance to see quite a few deer and to cross a farmer’s field, before descending and ascending a massive ditch to get to the development behind the church. It was there, in the farmer’s field that I can get to something quite devotional.
As I walked across the field, likely trespassing (forgive me!) and not debting, I noticed a change in the crunch under my feet. I looked down and what did I see but hundreds of dead corn cobs and entropy ridden husks. The dead of last year’s harvest was preparing that field for resurrection. We had a really wonderful Holy Week and as Robert led us to understand we are in the process of transforming. Resurrection is a period of amazing, miraculous transformation and the soil under my creeeeeeek soaked shoes was in the process of becoming brand new again. Just as our kids are all probably looking in the mirror for changes, we should be checking our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our spirit for change because Jesus is preparing our soil for Resurrection Transformation. For Jesus “It is done” for us, it has only just begun. Amen.
A field of corn cobs and husks