Not All Beauty is Peaceful
Looking out over the Puget Sound from our deck, I am continually captured by the beauty and the apparent peacefulness of the water. That got me thinking that actually not a lot of life is both beautiful and peaceful.
While in Zambia exploring ministry partnerships to help AIDS orphans, we were invited to detour a couple of days for a safari experience. Because I had not been back to Africa since living there as a child, I eagerly signed up. Leaving our encampment at dawn we crossed a great river watching the sun rise over the water. Then we bumped along in an old truck for a couple of hours while our guides pointed out wild life and helped us spot things like a herd of elephants in the distance.
Mid way through the experience we stopped at a remote watering hole where we could get out of the truck and stretch our legs while snacking on tea and cookies. I ambled off by myself to the waters edge some distance from the truck and enjoyed the stillness and beauty of this rare ‘African’ moment.
Suddenly I heard a commotion from the vicinity of the truck and turned to see a guide waving his arms and yelling at me to get away from the water. I waved back to him letting him know that I was fine and he didn’t need to concern himself with me. Suddenly he ran to me and grabbed my arm pulling me back from the edge of the lake. “What a nutcase”, I thought. What is the big deal anyway?
Then he pointed out the barely visible protrusions of two big crocodiles that had evidently quietly been approaching the spot where I had been standing only a minute ago. Then as if to emphasize that I was an idiot, he pointed to the hulking forms of hippos near the water’s edge. Evidently they are even more dangerous than the crocs. While all this was sinking in he then pointed out a huge mass floating in the lake, and told me it was the carcass of a hippo that had lost a fight with the others. He of course mentioned that below the surface the crocs had been devouring the flesh… I didn’t want another cookie.
That is when I learned that not all beauty is peaceful.
Jesus said, “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives…” I am starting to realize that much of my life I wanted the peace the world gives, rather than the gift our Lord brings. Maybe that is why I don’t like fighting with crocodiles in church staff meetings, or anywhere else they may drift into shore.
How can we experience the peace of God in the midst of the dangers of living? Can we appreciate the beauty while being wise about the dangers lurking? Can we trust Christ knowing He gives us His peace in the midst of our calamities?
After Zambia, I think His peace is less about quiet alone time, and more about becoming our authentic true selves in this beautiful/dangerous world.
