To be at peace, and truly be ...

We've begun our journey home ... I would like to share some snippets from the last week or so:

They are not in any particular order, but are bits and pieces of the profound sense of wonder, awe and peace that I feel as I begin the sojourn that will lead us back to Minnedosa ...

- sitting on the beach as the sun sets ... the kids have started a bon fire ... we talk about nothing, we talk about everything, we share stories from our family ...

- sitting on the bow of the boat returning to Telegraph Cove - the sun is setting in front of us ... the fog is rolling in around us ... the gill netters are working in the distance ... sitting with me are my children and my nephew ... for a brief fleeting moment, the world is perfect ...

- time spent with friends ... the gruff and wonderful native fisherman and his family - his observations and wisdom born of hard work and a no b---s---t attitude helps put things in balance ... the delightful and quirky almost lutheran pastor - his joie de vie, his perpetual optimism despite life's hard knocks and his utter devotion to the wonder and awe of life helps put things back into proper perspective ... the irrepressible and utterly unique mill wright - together we laugh, we argue, we debate ... over beer and food we've always had a good time ... a time too short, too precious, but valuable beyond all price ...

- the awe of the sacrament ... first anglican, then united ... shared amongst loving and devoted friends and community ... take this bread and never hunger - drink this cup and never thirst ... recieving for a change rather then giving ... Holiness held in my hand and heart ...

- the splendour of creation ... whales in the bay ... reef walking with the children ... bears and deer along the road ... eagles and ravens over head ... crabs and eels under foot ... how can one stand in the majesty that is the Pacific Coast and NOT feel overwhelmed by awe?

- time with family ... we argue ... we fight ... we play ... we laugh ... from the wee one of 2 1/2 to the patriarch cowboy of 8 plus decades ... we've spent time together and sometimes that alone is enough ...

Life isn't perfect ... but sometimes moments in time bring us as close to perfection as we may ever find ... it can be in the simplest of things ... but frequently, it is only when we look back on that moment when we realize how incredibly important it was ... It may be time spent with a child ... time walking in creation ... time just simply being ... in the moment it is simply time ... in time it becomes a precious memory, preserved in our hearts and in our souls ...

Such is the gift of Shalom ... may be all find those places, those times, those moments when we are truly able to be at peace and simply and truly be ...

dayenu,