The end or the beginning

Last week we were visiting Chao Lao Beach in Chanthaburi Province, about a 3 hour drive south of where we live. I got up early in the morning per my usual style and walked down the beach, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunrise from the pier that I could see in the distance.

It took me about half an hour to get to the pier and as I was walking out to the end, I thought, “this is it, I can’t go any further, I’ve come to the end of my journey.” But then, I thought, it’s all a manner of perspective. To some people a pier not the end of the journey but only just the beginning of it.

Ingrid and family by the boat
that took them to Canada

Several years ago, such a boat ride marked the beginning of a new life for Ingrid’s family in Canada. To them, when they got on the boat, the journey was barely beginning.

But even as one begins such a trip, one has to keep in mind that such a segment of a journey is not necessarily easy. It could be dangerous (depending on the type of boat one is in) and there will likely be bouts of seasickness. But often we can’t get to our destination without boarding either a boat or a plane.

Our lives are often have piers in them as well. We get to points in our life and say, “well that was fun, but we’ve run into this obstacle, and we can’t go any further.” But maybe it might be the time to say something like, “Wow, looks like our journey is finally about to begin. Looks like it might be rough sailing for a while, but I can’t wait to get to the other side.”

After the nation of Israel had been wandering in the wilderness, they too, came upon an obstacle. They knew they were supposed to go to the land on the other side of the Jordan River, but the River was running at flood stage. Trying to get two million people across a flooding river would seem to be quite the challenge. But God had a plan. It did not involve a boat, but it did involve an ark.

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3:14-16 (ESV)

Right now, we feel like we are about to get on a boat at the end of the pier. We’ve been on a journey to bring the good news of Jesus to the people of Isaan. We did not expect that our journey would take us the way it did and we finally got to the end of a road where it looked like the journey was over. But there is a boat at the end of the pier with Ban Phruksa-Chachoengsao written on its bow. It seems that if we ride this boat for a while we will eventually get to our destination. We don’t know what the ride will be like, and we may get a little seasick at times. But the end of the pier we are on is not the end of our journey, but only the beginning.

Entrance sign to Ban Phruksa

Weapon or Toy

A flambouyant tree similar to the one
we saw in Haiti

It was about 32 years ago when I first saw it. We had recently moved to Saint Marc, Haiti, and we were visiting Amani-y Beach just south of the city.  As we were driving over the white limestone soil on the way to the beach we passed this bare skeleton of a tree—except that it was covered with magnificent red blooms.
 
The flambouyant tree is probably the first tropical tree/flower that I learned the name of. And as beautiful as the blooms were, the later transformation was just as amazing. The big red blossoms gave way to enormous bean pods filled with hard, elongated beans. The pods dried almost black in color and when dry, the pods could be used as musical shakers. The dark skin could also be etched away revealing the paler woody pod beneath in order to make handicrafts.

Bloom of the flambouyant tree

The seeds themselves are quite hard. In the past, when I wanted to plant some seeds, I would file a notch in the side of the seed and then pour boiling water over them to hasten germination.

Pod and seeds of flambouyant tree
If you know how big my feet are, you can really appreciate this

 
It was in search of such pods that I set out a few weeks ago. I needed to pick them off the tree before they finished drying completely because otherwise they would split open while still on the tree. I had noticed a relatively short tree not far from our apartment on one of my walks so I headed to that tree.


When I arrived to the tree, there were the usual dozen or so feral dogs hanging around. (The undeveloped areas around here are home to probably a couple hundred feral dogs which are fed by well meaning folk trying to earn merit.) I had been around long enough where the dogs were more afraid of me than I of them. But that day they were even more afraid because now, in addition to the usual weapon I use to chase them away (my eyes), I also had this large, stick-like seed pod in my hand.

As I continued on my walk that morning, I turned around a corner when I saw this petite woman sitting on a curb almost dwarfed by the two golden retrievers that were with her. I had not seen those two dogs before, nor they me, but upon seeing me, the two came running up to me. One of them saw the bean pod in my hand—the same one that had been a potential weapon in the eyes of the feral dogs—and tried to pull it out of my hand to play fetch. (I had gone to great effort to get this pod, however, and I was not about to let it go.) The lady was apologetic about her dogs, but I was more than happy to hang out with the friendly duo for a few minutes. One of them wanted to follow me home, and I was tempted to let him.

We will soon (hopefully) be moving to the community of Ban Phruksa in Chachoengsao Province. This move to me is kind of like the seed pod of the flambouyant tree—I can look at it two different ways. The feral dog part of me wants to move to Isaan right now and resents the interim move we will soon be making to Ban Phruksa. The golden retriever in me sees how well suited we are for the ministry opportunity in Ban Phruksa. So I have to constantly choose between the two—will I be a feral dog or a golden retriever?

It’s kind of like when Moses sent out 12 spies into the Promised Land.  All twelve saw the same things, but ten of them, even though they had seen all the good things that the land had to offer, did not think that Israel was able to conquer the land or that it was worth the effort.  Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, thought that Israel was able to conquer the land.  Caleb reported: "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." Numbers 13:30 (ESV) They believed that it was possible not because the nation of Israel was capable, but because God had promised them the land and that God would assure victory.

God, help me to see things with your eyes and to trust you to give victory.