Top 12 2020

This is my usual review of the year by looking at my favorite photo from each month. It is a bit different this year because there are no photos from Thailand. This was not how I expected it would be, but with COVID-19, things just did not go as planned. It turns out that Canada and the US have some nice places to photograph as well.

January - Little House on the Prairie

Winter Evening in Barrhead, Alberta

January began as the whole year ended up—not as planned. We anticipated a challenging month as we were preparing to return to North America for a couple of months so there were a lot of things to do to get ready for that as well as challenges related to our visa in Thailand. Then, ten days before we were to leave, Ingrid fell and suffered a concussion. As a result, a lot of prep work never happened. Upon arrival in Canada, things also weren't on schedule, so we ended up switching some dates around and managed to get to Alberta just in time for some really cold weather. Fortunately, I had ordered some winter boots from Walmart, Canada, to be waiting for me when I got there.

We were inside most of the time, but occasionally I would bundle up with whatever warm clothes I could gather and go for a walk. I never did find a good pair of gloves to wear. In that part of the world in winter, the sun sets pretty early in the day. Late one afternoon, I decided to walk to my sister-in-law's house where my wife and father-in-law would later meet us for dinner. Just as I arrived, the light glowing in the windows of their house matched the color that the setting sun had painted the sky. The warm colors seemed so inviting on the the bitter-cold evening.

February - Morro Rock and Morro Bay with Sea Otters

Morro Bay

After leaving Canada, we drove down to California. First thing on the agenda was a long overdue one-week vacation in Morro Bay. Our hotel room was large and nicely furnished. It even had an air-conditioner. But what it did not have was a heater, and we sure wanted one. Fortunately, there were some nice, thick blankets and we had brought along our winter coats.

We appreciated that the days were mostly sunny. The bay was full of otters and it was the time of year when the mothers would be floating around with the babies on their bellies. The orange-red aloes contrasted nicely with the blue waters of the bay. I stuck my hands between the bars of the fence to snap this photo. Sunny days in winter are my favorite time to visit the Central Coast area of California.

March - Drive in the Foothills of Fresno County

Foothill Wildflowers near Tollhouse, California

By March, COVID-19 was all over the news and travel was restricted. We got word that our return flight to Thailand, scheduled for April 15, had been canceled. We learned new words like social distancing and we began wearing masks in public. Many parks and public recreation areas were closed, but not all. So we took a drive up to the San Joaquin River Gorge to go for a walk—Ingrid's first walk on hills since her concussion. On the way home we turned down some side road I'd never been on before, and we passed this field covered with pseudo-snow (cryptantha flowers). Well worth the detour.

April - California Poppies

California Poppies Near Pine Flat Lake

We got tired of being trapped in the house, so one day we decided to escape to the hills, this time going to the Pine Flat Lake area. A lot of the recreation areas were closed so our visit was confined to places where we could park beside the road. Wildflowers were blooming like crazy. Many other people were out enjoying the flowers, so we tried to pick places to park where there were few or no others stopped. We found a nice spot with just enough room for the width of the car on the side of a hill. It had a southwest exposure and was covered with a blanket of flowers, mostly California poppies.

May - Painted Hills

Hills Painted With Clarkia Flowers Near Pine Flat Lake

Some friends who have an acreage in the foothills invited us to stay in their trailer. They live about a mile past a locked gate off Trimmer Springs Road near Pine Flat Lake. It was the tail end of wildflower season. The earlier blooming species were fading and the late season flowers were in their prime. We left there on May 1st and decided to take the long way back to our temporary lodging in Fresno. This meant heading further away from the city before meeting a side road that would lead us back to Fresno via the Tollhouse area. It was our first time to travel this route. We were glad we made the journey, though, because God had painted the south-facing hills pink with Clarkia flowers, mostly Speckled Clarkia.

June - Big Baldy Trail

Big Baldy Trail

In June we learned that Kings Canyon and Sequoia Parks were partially opened. We took advantage of the opportunity to hike to Big Baldy. They weren't charging to enter the park at that time, but we had to deal with delays due to road construction. It was a beautiful day for the hike. We met very few people on the trail. However we did run into the son of some friends of ours whom we had not seen since we lived in Bakersfield. Back then he was just a kid, now he was out hiking with his wife and daughter.

This was our first high-altitude hiking since 2013, so it was a big workout for our lungs and the five or so miles (round-trip) seemed a lot longer. We had enough energy when we were done, though, to take the long way back through Sequoia Park, Three Rivers and Visalia.

July - Cliff Lake Hike

Cliff Lake in the Sierra National Forest

In July, Ingrid went to visit her family in Canada. I made three trips to the mountains, which ended up being my last trips for the year because later everything was shut down due to the wildfires. The last hike I made was to Cliff Lake. The trail head is near the north end of Courtright Reservoir. One of the reasons I picked this trail was that I wanted to see if the Tioga Gentian flowers were still blooming where I remembered seeing them on one of our first trips to the area about fifteen years earlier.

There were quite a few people camping by the lake, but I headed past all the tents to the far end of the lake where I remembered seeing the flowers so many years ago. It took me a while to spot them as they are low growing and not very flashy. It was nice just to rest and eat my picnic lunch and wade out into the cool waters of the lake.

From what I can tell looking at online maps, a good portion of the trail on the way to the lake was burned over by one of the many wildfires this past summer. So the next time I go back, it may not be as pretty. It appears the area around Cliff Lake was spared, though.

Tioga Gentian

August - Day Trip to Montana de Oro State Park

Mossy Oaks in Montana de Oro State Park

My wife's trip to Canada got extended a couple weeks. During this time, she made several outings to lakes and parks with her father. As Ingrid would describe her outings to me over the phone, I got itchy britches, wanting to make a trip to see some water. So one day, I got up very early to go to Montana de Oro State Park in San Luis Obispo County. My goal was to hike a loop trail that Ingrid and I visited in 2009. Starting at Spooner's Cove, I hiked the Valencia Peak trail, but turned off about half-way up and took the trail towards Oats I ended up on a different trail, this one was a new one put in to accomodate mountain bikes, of which I only saw one. It was quite foggy, so I did not get to enjoy what were probably some fantastic views along the way.

After Oats Peak came the part I was really looking forward to. I remembered from my previous trip that the trail passed through a grove of gnarly, moss-coved oaks in a scene that looked like it came from some fantasy movie. I was not disappointed. One thing I had forgotten about, though, was all the poison oak. Because this section of trail gets little use, it is a bit overgrown and the poison oak plants appeared to be reaching out to get me as I walked past. I did manage to escape its grasp, though sometimes I had to resort to tricky moves to do so.

Most of the trail down was quite steep, and I'm glad I brought my walking sticks to help keep from falling. The last thing I wanted to do was face plant in a poison oak covered rock. Once I reached Coon Creek, the going got a lot easier. The trail was generally flat, except for the last part where it appears we had to exit over a hill due to a land ownership change along the creek. I then walked straight out to the ocean and followed bluff trail back to Spooner's Cove, stopping to eat my lunch along the way. Altogether, probably about a 12-mile hike. I was finished early enough so that I would have time to detour to Gopher Glen to buy some organic apples on the way home.

September - Red Fox

Red Fox

At the beginning of September we moved into another house in Fresno. This house we were sharing with a Paraguayan family who was also stuck in the US due to COVID-19 issues. Across the street to the south used to be an orchard, but now the land was bare as it awaits a crop of houses to be planted. A red fox lives in the neighborhood—I think it probably sleeps in the small amount of undeveloped land behind our house. Most of this area is rapidly being developed and the fox has an ever diminishing area in which to hunt food. I'm guessing he spends a lot of time looking for gophers and ground squirrels in the yet-to-be developed fields. For water to drink, the fox availed himself to the puddles that get left behind by the irrigation sprinklers, as he was doing when I snapped this photo from the kitchen window.

October - Anniversary Trip to Morro Bay

Long-billed Curlew on Morro Strand Beach

At one point, I had been dreaming of making a trip to New England for our anniversary. But we were in the midst of two online courses and it seemed a bit of a stretch to combine the studies and the travel. So we opted for and overnight trip to the coast. No strenuous hiking on this trip, just strolls along Morro Strand Beach mixed with Zoom calls for our couses. The migratory birds had started to arrive, mixing in with the resident species on the beach. At one point, there was a large flock of Royal Terns and Elegant Terns hanging out in a quiet area of the upper beach. Sanderlings, Marbled Godwits and Long-billed Curlews were chasing the waves looking for snacks. Amongst the curlews, I noticed this cute couple hanging out together, kinda like us on our anniversary.

November - Sunset in Madera County

Madera County Sunset

Even though we are living in the same zip code as we always have in Fresno, we are in a different part of the city and that means we have to figure out different ways to get places. It also means we get to explore different roads. Late one afternoon, we decided to take a break from COVID captivity and go for a drive. We meandered more-or-less north, trying to see if we could get to the San Joaquin River. I purposely did not use a map or GPS to maximize opportunities for seeing new sights (that's a euphemism for "getting lost"). We took one road that headed due north—which was the way I wanted to go. There was no street sign to give me a clue as to where it might end up. Just about when I thought we were getting close to the river, the road turned right and wandered generally east. Eventually we got to a place I recognized just south of Table Mountain Casino. We drove past the casino and parked near the bridge below Friant Dam and wandered the paths by the river for a while. Leaving there, we continued north into Madera County and then west towards Highway 41. We got to Highway 41 just as the sun was setting, so we parked at the convenient Park-and-Ride lot to watch the sun go down behind the trees.

December - Day Trip to Lake Isabella

Reflections in the Kern River

We had really hoped to make a multi-day trip to Kern County to visit my cousins and do some hiking by Lake Isabella. But with COVID numbers just going crazy, we figured we'd try to more-or-less comply with government guidelines about avoiding people and crowds. So we opted for a day trip, as there were some things I needed to get from my cousin's daughter before we head back to Thailand. On the way there, we were treated with a rare sighting of a rainbow over the lake. By the time we headed back, the sun was low enough that the canyon was mostly in the shade. We pulled off to enjoy some last views of the Kern River for a few years. We happened to stop where there was a short path down to a beautiful reflecting pool in a tranquil section of the river. Apparently, this quiet spot has a different character in the spring runoff season as there was a memorial to a person who died there this past year.

We lingered at the river for a while, trying to savor the moment. Memories come back of the many trips I made in through this canyon. Memories of a bygone time when California was so new to us and full of hopes, some which came to fruition and some which died difficult deaths. Memories of a time when my cousin, who was such an inspiration to me, was still alive in this world. So much has happened since we first drove through that canyon 27 years ago. I want to cherish the memories there by the river while I have opportunity, for life will move on and God has some new memories that He yet wants to make in our lives next year.

Beautiful Colors

Are you going to leave anything behind for us to remember you by? Here, you can use our daughter.

My Haitian co-worker and I were visiting a family in a village in the hills above Saint Marc when the mother made this comment. It was an awkward enough question to begin with and it was made even more so by the fact that this daughter that the mother was referring to was engaged to be married and we had already been invited to the wedding. Clearly we needed to do some teaching. But the question remained, why would the mother want me to have a baby with her soon-to-be-married daughter? This wasn't like the girls who where eyeing me—an eligible bachelor at the time—as a way to get out of poverty. The mother knew I would be leaving the country in a couple months, which was why this topic even came up.

At the Wedding

It was about skin color. If someone had a child with a white person, there was a chance the baby would have lighter skin, and lighter-skinned people were felt to be at economic advantage even in this overwhelmingly black country run by black people.

As foreigners, we were used to being called blanc, which literally translates as white, although the term was used to refer to foreigners regardless of skin color. White was associated with foreignness and foreignness meant money and power, two things desperately lacking in that impoverished land. And while many saw hope in pale skin, I saw the beauty in their dark faces and the ugliness of the foreigners who often used their power and money to exploit the poor. It took a lot of moral character to not do that, especially when there were such easy opportunities for sex and abuse of power just because one had white skin.

This incident probably marked the beginning of my learning about the relationship between skin color and power; I realized that I had to be careful so as not to abuse that power. It isn't always easy and I don't always succeed.

Skin-color issues are not always simple to understand. Living in Thailand for the past while, I've been amazed at the number of skin products that have whitening properties. I'm challenged to find deodorant without bleaching agents. There are even whitening products to use in places where the sun doesn't shine! I hear girls bemoaning the fact that they are not beautiful because, among other things, their skin is too dark—even when it isn't as dark as my tanned skin. Teenage girls we know have shared a post on social media that says, "what guy would love a girl with small breasts and dark skin?" Their ideal of beauty comes from the very light-skinned models that they see pictured in magazines and on the internet. And these models are usually Asian, not European.

In Thailand the idea seems to be that since you get dark skin by working under the hot sun, if you have light skin, people are less likely to see you as an uneducated, unrefined hick. The term, "from the country," is not a compliment. And it is not just color that matters. Beauty and handsomeness are seen as signs of good karma, and whiter skin is part of that. The better-looking you are, the better your chance of getting a good job. I once saw a job posting on a bulletin board in the shopping mall for a "young attractive female." I expected it to be about selling beauty products, but it wasn't. It was an ordinary job staffing a sales booth and they were looking for eye candy. At least they were open about it.

We humans get so hung up on outward appearances. It is sad to me that the young people in Thailand find it necessary to try to have paler skin in order to have better job opportunities or to get a boyfriend or girlfriend. Why should that matter? Why should pale skin be a ticket up or a pass to get into the right crowd? Why can't people be fully accepted and integrated into society as they are with whatever skin color God gave them?

For me, one of the challenges of working in Thailand is understanding the complicated relationships between status (and all the things that go with that) and color and power. Unfortunately, skin color is one of those things that fits into the status equation. In my western egalitarian mindset, I don't want people to agree with me or defer to me just because I am higher status. It can be hard to get an honest opinion sometimes because people may outwardly agree with me just because I appear to have higher status. And I have to be extra careful that I not use my inferred power (white skin) to try to take advantage of people. (There is also discrimination against us due to skin color, but that is another story.)

This past year, we have been back in the USA, stuck here because of COVID-19. This has given me opportunity to be in America when issues related to skin-color are in the news and the topic of many conversations. I find I still have a lot of learning to do. Over the years, I've had black co-workers, supervisors and friends but I had not really thought much about the extra challenges they face due to their skin color. It shouldn't matter, but it does, and that bugs me.

I think it is especially troubling when there is racism and classism in the church. One of the characteristics of the New Covenant ushered in by Jesus is that there is no longer room for an "us and them" mentality. Prior to that it was acceptable for Jews to keep separate from non-Jews. But now those barriers are removed. Paul writes in Colossians 3:11 (MSG)

Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

In Christ we are all baptized into one body:

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:13 - NIV)

There is no place in the church for division based on outward appearances. There is only one Holy Spirit, how can we then try to exclude or treat differently those who who share in the same Spirit?

A big challenge is that often disparate treatment of others happens unintentionally. We may not be aware of how our words or actions affect others. I've learned from experience that the way I perceive things may not be the way they are perceived by others. So, how can we know? I figure the best way is to ask—to invite people of color into conversation about these issues without getting defensive if the conversation becomes uncomfortable.

I like the words Jesus gave to His disciples:

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 13:35 - NLT2)

When I read this, I like to picture a gathering of people from many different language and ethnic groups where each person's unique culture would lend to the character of the group. This miraculous display genuine love by the power of the Holy Spirit would become the distinctive of the church in the eyes of the world. How beautiful that would be. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we heard things like, "They must be Christians, look at how they get along with each other and treat one another even if they are so different and have so little in common."

Are we there yet?

White Christmas

The other day I was dreaming about dreaming about a White Christmas. Then I noticed it was on Netflix. The movie, White Christmas, that is. So after a brief hiatus (the last time I saw the movie I think all the original cast were still in show business) we watched the movie. I think it was the first time Ingrid saw the movie.

I long since stopped associating Christmas with snow. Palm trees are a fine substitute for spruce and fir, in my mind. And if the evergreen tree outside my front door happens to be a mango, that's okay, too.

Many years we've had our white Christmas due to the fog. And I was hopeful because we've had some really thick, persistent fog earlier this week—even hanging out into the evening so much so that we couldn't see the "Christmas Star" phenomenon on Monday. But then, the Grinch conspired against us with a low pressure system to take away our white Christmas.

So he thought.

Because I found a White Christmas in our front yard. No shovels, blowers or baby Deeres needed (that last one is for my cousin).

White Chrysanthemum

White Rose

White Narcissus

Merry Christmas

What Time is It?

When we first moved to Thailand, we were studying the language in Bangkok. There weather was hot and humid all the time. Except when it was really hot and really humid. Sweating was unavoidable. And while I couldn't avoid having water dripping from all my pores 24 hours a day, I could at least attempt to not smell bad. Most days that meant taking at least two showers.

But sometimes, even after my shower, I still smelled bad. It took me a while to identify the culprit: my watchband.

My Little-Used Watch

 So I started washing the sweat out of my watch band every few days. But even that wasn't often enough. So after years of wearing a watch, I ditched the habit. I figured I could always check the time on my phone.

Not that it mattered a whole lot. Life in Thailand is a bit different than life in North America.  One of the things that we notice is that people, especially in rural areas, don't seem as time-conscious. Things happen when they happen. Many people are farmers or are self-employed. Time is not so much of a factor. You do things when they need to be done. Sometimes people sport large and/or fancy watches more as a fashion accessory. They may not even be functional.

As for my watch, it normally sits in a drawer in my bedside stand in Thailand until we go traveling out of the country.

It was the same way when we lived in Haiti many years ago. The people of Haiti, at least at the time we lived there, were not very time-conscious. They arrived at places when they got there. So it seemed ironic that one of the few English phrases people knew was, "What time is it?" People would ask us that question, often not knowing what it meant.

No Timepiece Needed
Le Marron Inconnu blew the conch to signal the right time
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

These days, if I hear the question, "What time is it?" I might respond, "Depends. Who's asking?" It's not because I might want to give a duplicitous answer to some people. It's just that in this day and age we find ourselves conversing with people all over the world scattered across time zones. The other day we were trying to join a Zoom meeting and for some reason we couldn't connect. Then we remembered that the meeting was in our time zone, whereas the Zoom meetings we usually arrange are one hour ahead of us. We had not been able to join the meeting because it hadn't started yet; we were an hour early.

Then there is the challenge of switching time zones. When we are in Thailand, we get used to subtracting 15 hours (or 14 during savings time) to calculate what time it is for our friends on the west coast of North America. But then we move back to the west coast, we need to remember to add 14 or 15 hours if we're making an appointment to meet our friends in Thailand online. And sometimes I get that messed up. (These days I get lazy and put things in Google calendar in the time zone of the person I'm communicating with and I let Google put it right time zone for me.)

Clock Tower in Chiang Rai
also a fashion accessory
(lighting is used to continually change the color)

Sometimes I wonder, since God exists outside of time, how does all this work for Him? How does God view time? If I ask God, "What time is it?", How would he reply? Is God's sense of time linear, or is it all kind of mixed up together? Fortunately, there are some references to time in scripture.

At Christmastime we celebrate something that happened at just the right time. As we read in Galatians 4:4 (NLT):

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

A Timely Birth

Jesus came into the world at just the right point in history—at the right time. God somehow knew that the culmination of whatever things needed to happen had finally happened. It was time. Time for the Messiah to be born of a virgin in a humble birth witnessed by livestock and shepherds. But that was then, what about now? What time is it now?

According to the apostle Paul, now is the time of salvation. As we read in 2 Corinthians 6:2b (NIV):

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

In this time period between when Jesus ascended to heaven and when Jesus will return again is the opportunity for living souls to receive salvation—it is the time for us to come to Jesus by faith and receive eternal life. When we die, it is too late. When Jesus returns, it's too late. Now is the time.

And one day, at just the right time, Christ will return:

For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 1 Timothy 6:15 (NLT)

God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world at the right time. Each Christmas we celebrate an historical event that happened at the right point in history. And we thank you that in the meantime, we have opportunity to receive salvation. We also look forward to the time when Jesus will return again to this earth you made.

What's it worth to you?

I was re-reading a recent blog and I was looking more closely at this photo I used.

Water Buffalo Skin

The photo was taken in the Lao market in Phon Phisai. Pictured is water buffalo skin cut in strips. What caught my attention was the price. One hundred twenty baht per kilo. That's about $2 per pound! And the strips of skin still have to be processed before they're edible (I use the term loosely). You've heard of steak that's as tough as leather--well this is just plain leather. Two dollars a pound for some very chewy "meat". Would you pay it?

I've eaten this once before. It was the most awful tasting thing I have ever eaten. I don't know if it is always like that, but the stuff I had tasted like it had been out in the sun a few weeks to long. Usually, if something tastes bad, I try to swallow it quickly to get it out of my mouth. That's not going to happen with this kind of food, because you have to chew it a long time before you could possibly swallow it.

As much as I don't understand it, people are obviously willing to shell out what is in my mind an exorbitant amount of money for these strips of hide. What would it be worth to you?

Sometimes people are willing to pay what seems a very unreasonable price for some things. Last summer I saw a sign posted offering $800 for the return of a lost dog. Eight hundred dollars! And it's smaller than a cat! With so many stray and unwanted dogs around, why does one pay so much for one? To me, that seems a very unreasonable price. (Sorry, dog fans, I just don't understand.)

Lost Dog Reward

Who sets the price for something? How does one determine what something is worth? What is a reasonable price to pay?

I'm thankful that Jesus was willing to pay what seems a very unreasonable price for something. He was willing to pay with His very life the price to give us not-so-good humans eternal life in heaven. The apostle Paul wrote:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. Romans 5:6-7 (NLT)

Did he get a good deal? Are we worth it? 

Would you do that? Would I do that? Would I be willing to give up my life so that my enemy might be able to receive a very nice reward that he does not deserve?

The example of Jesus tells us that no price is too high when it comes to giving people the opportunity to spend eternal life in heaven with God. But I can be stingy. Sometimes I don't want to sacrifice my comfort to reach out and offer people the love of Jesus. I'd rather pay someone else to go share the gospel in difficult places than go myself. It can be hard for me to give up watching a TV show in order to spend time praying so that the good news of Jesus might be brought to those so desperately in need of it. It's much nicer enjoying a meal in my home than going to share with someone scrounging for food out in the cold. All too often, these people just don't seem worth the expenditure of my time, energy, or money.

At the same time, I am grateful for those who sacrificed so that I might come to know about the tremendous love of God through Jesus Christ. Some people thought that this self-centered person living an ungodly, hedonistic lifestyle was worth it.

God, help me to place the same value on the lives of my fellow humans that you do.

Christmas Confusion

One of the memories of my childhood was winters with lots of snow.

Christmastime in New England

At Christmastime, we would go to the Christmas tree farm down the road and we would wade through the snow to find a tree as tall as my dad.

Our 6-Foot Tall Tree

My brain still associates Christmas trees with snow. And so when I see the Christmas tree in the house where we are now staying and the golden leaves on the mulberry tree through the window behind it, I get a sense that something is off—something is out of place—something is not as it should be. I see both fall and winter at the same time, and my brain is confused.

Christmas Trees and Yellow Leaves

This year I think the whole world has felt that way. Whole economies are shaken by COVID-19.  Social distancing has redefined how we do relationships. Systemic racism has given rise to protests and riots. US Elections have turned into a political circus. Like my snowless Christmas tree, something seems very off. Can we please just have some normal?

Christmas is the time we remember Jesus coming to tell us that same message—that something is off—something is not how it should be. The world is marred by sin. Everything is affected. All relationships suffer from sin's poison in our lives. We weren't designed for this. We were designed for an intimate life with the Creator in a world unstained by sin. We were designed to have relationships without conflict and worlds without war. But everything is broken and needs to be fixed. So God sent His Son, the Prince of Peace, so that we can have a restored relationship with God and with each other.

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
   and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor,Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)

So if things seem unusual this year—if things seem out of place—we need to remember that the world has always been that way. It's just that this year many things have happened to remind us of just how broken this world really is.

Christmas comes at a good time. We could use a little reminder that Jesus came into the world to show us how different things can be. We may not attain to it in our lifetimes, but when Jesus comes back, He will show us what normal is really like.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
   and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
   and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
   their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
   and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;
   for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6-9 (ESV)