Myopic Adventures

A few weeks ago I was looking at some travel information and I saw a picture of a waterfall.  When I read the details about it, I found out it was called Huai Kaew waterfall and it is in Chiang Rai province.

So yesterday, while we came to Chiang Rai on business, we decided to detour to check out the waterfall.

The travel distance was about 20 kilometers but Google maps said the driving time was just over an hour without traffic.

Just over an hour!  Why!

Oh--that's why.

The last 6 kilometers we drove up and then down a very steep road which was only one lane wide and had lots of blind corners.  There were very few places to pull over and so we hoped we would not meet up with any four-wheeled vehicles, as it would likely mean backing up a long distance to a wide spot on the road.

So while on the one hand I wanted to drive very fast in order to: 1) minimize the amount of time I was on the road and therefore reduce opportunity for meeting up with another vehicle, and 2) try to get there and back to the two lane road before the impending storm hit.

However, it was necessary to drive slow so that: 1) I wouldn't hit any vehicles going around blind corners, and 2) I wouldn't lose control and drive off the pavement which would result in serious damage to the vehicle and its contents.

Due to all of this, I was rather intently focused on the road and so was not paying very much attention to things not related to that.  I'm sure there was some really nice scenery.  I might have taken a photo if there was a place to pull over and park the car--but there wasn't.

We ended up parking about 1 kilometer from the waterfall because the pavement ended and the road condition beyond that was not very good.  But the walk up to the waterfall was well worth it.  We passed through a tea plantation being run by the Akha people who live there.  At the falls, the piercing whine of the cicadas added to the roar coming from the water as it tumbled over the rocks.  I wish we could have stayed longer and just enjoyed the natural sights and sounds and smells, but the dark clouds above were roaring out their plans for the near future, and I wasn't too excited about them.

So we rushed back to the truck.  The rain started falling gently while we were on the downhill stretch.  Fortunately, the heavy stuff did not come until we were back on the two-lane road. All-in-all, it was a fun adventure.

Sometimes life can be kind of like our trip to Huai Kaew waterfall..

Just a couple of weeks ago, my brother-in-law was being examined for a suspected--and verified--kidney stone.  While performing the scan, the physician noticed some signs for what appear to be a fairly advanced cancer.  But without any other symptoms, it was not even known what the source was.

All of the sudden George and Dawn's lives have become like driving a narrow, mountain road, with much of their attention very focused on figuring out what is happening with George's body.

Please pray:

1) for skill in navigating the course ahead
2) for places along the way to pull of the road and enjoy the view
3) that they won't encounter "vehicles" causing them to have to back up and start over
4) for some pretty waterfalls along the way
5) that they will finish the course before the heavy rains hit.

You can follow their journey here.

O my soul, bless GOD.
     From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!

O my soul, bless GOD,
     don't forget a single blessing!

He forgives your sins—every one.
     He heals your diseases—every one.

He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
     He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.

He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
     He renews your youth—
     you're always young in his presence.

GOD makes everything come out right;
     he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,
     opened up his plans to all Israel.

GOD is sheer mercy and grace;
     not easily angered, he's rich in love.

He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
     nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
     nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth,
     so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
     he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children,
     GOD feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,
     keeps in mind that we're made of mud.

Men and women don't live very long;
     like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
     leaving nothing to show they were here.

GOD's love, though, is ever and always,
     eternally present to all who fear him,
     Making everything right for them and their children
     as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.

GOD has set his throne in heaven;
     he rules over us all. He's the King!

So bless GOD, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding,
     quick to hear and do what he says.

Bless GOD, all you armies of angels,
     alert to respond to whatever he wills.

Bless GOD, all creatures, wherever you are—
     everything and everyone made by GOD.

And you, O my soul, bless GOD!

Psalm 103:1-22 (MSG)

Huai Kaew Waterfall, just west of Chiang Rai

You can’t get lost…

…if you don’t have a destination



Today, I was out on my bicycle, combining my morning workout with exploring parts of our district that I had not visited before.  My journey took me up an unpaved road that turned into a field road that petered out on a hillside garden.

As I was coming back, I decided to check out some of the side streets of the nearby village.  As I was rounding one corner, I noticed a group of people standing around in one of the yards.

“Are you lost?” they asked.

I told them that I was not lost but I was new to the area and I was exploring.  What I wanted to say, but I did not know how to say in Thai, is that you can’t get lost if you don’t have a destination.  Instead, it is more like how the old saying puts it, “wherever you go, there you are.”

While this kind of attitude is great for exploring, it is not very helpful for most things in life, whether it be working or writing or doing a project around the house.  And I must confess that I do struggle in this area—I’m a better starter than a finisher.

I know I’ve listened to sermons that were put together by someone who did not have a goal.  After a while the listening gets tiring and I check out.  “Where is he going?” I’ll as myself.  Sometimes the speaker will get me by surprise and actually reach a destination. At other times I’ll notice that the speaker himself did not seem to have a goal.  I find myself looking to be fed but coming up empty.

The destination is important.

I see the importance of having a goal these days in continuing my Thai studies.  When we were in language school, there was always a goal—usually marked by the completion of a workbook and a test of some sort.  Now the struggle is to find a goal that is reasonable, in the light of ministry commitments, and then to work towards that goal.  Without such a goal, it is hard to stay motivated to study.

Our life also needs a goal.  While I don’t underestimate the value of the journey itself—our life is all about that journey—it should be a journey to someplace.

Paul noted the importance of a life goal.

¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
 ¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:10-14

Paul’s goal was to know Jesus and be like Him.  He notes that this is not an easy goal to attain, but that it was worth straining forward for and pressing on towards.

It is interesting to note that Paul’s goal was not to win X number of people to Jesus—though he spent his life trying reach those who had not yet heard about Jesus.  In fact, in Acts 9:15 we read that Jesus gave him a clear call to do this very thing. Yet even though his life was consumed with bringing the good news to the non-Jewish world, his actual goal was to know and be like Jesus.

Reaching people for Jesus was his task.

Being like Jesus was his goal.

I admit that my pursuit of this kind of goal often seems to lack the ardor and zeal that marked Paul’s life.  It is easy to get distracted with other things—even good things.

We read a story about this kind of thing in Luke 10:38-42 (NIV):

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
⁴¹ "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha missed out on the "better" part because she let the task (serving Jesus) distract her from what should have been her goal (knowing Jesus).  Both the task and the goal are important—but if we lose sight of the goal, the task has no value, and we get lost.

God, help me to fix my eyes on that which is better—that which is most important.

Slow Down

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Luke 10:30-34 (ESV) 



When people ask me if I like traveling, I typically respond, “I like being other places, but I don’t particularly like traveling.”

Usually when I am going some place, my goal is typically on my destination, not my journey.  I tend to dislike disruptions and once I hop on a bicycle or jump in a car, it is really hard for me to stop the vehicle and get out.

Yet life is so much about the journey and not so much about the destination.  If God’s goal for us was only to get to heaven, then He would likely just take us from this world as soon as we believe in Jesus.

But He doesn’t do that.  Because our planetary purpose is about the journey.  Things we often see as interruptions are ministry opportunities that God puts in our lives.  Our choice is whether we want to be like the religious leaders who walked right by the man who had been robbed on the way to Jericho, or like the Samaritan man, whose name has become synonymous for one who helps out those he encounters.

Too often, I live like the former.  One incident is deeply embedded in my brain.

Many years ago, I was assisting a co-worker with his work in Twenty-nine Palms, California.  We had begun the day early, while it was still dark, and had put in a long day.  I was on my way home to Bakersfield and I pulled into a McDonald’s in Barstow for dinner.  I normally don’t like to eat at McDonalds but I just wanted have something fast so that I could be on my way home.

As I got in line, I noticed a homeless man and I felt the Spirit stirring me to buy him a meal.  But, like the religious leaders in the story above, I chose to ignore such promptings, justifying my actions by the fact that I had already put in a long day and I wasn’t even done yet.

When I sat down with my food, I noticed that someone else had bought some food for the homeless man and was giving it to him.  And the Spirit seemed to speak to me, “you ignored me, and someone else is going to get the blessing.”

You think I would have learned from that, but still I have a tendency to rush by ministry opportunities that God puts in front of me on my way to ministries of MY own design and under MY control.

Lord, help me to “stop and smell the roses” as I walk along life’s path.  Help me to be more like the Samaritan who sees the ministry opportunities that You have placed right in front of us, that I have a propensity to totally NOT see.  And by Your grace through Christ Jesus, forgive me for all the times when I refused to see what you wanted me to see in order that I might be a channel of your love in the lives of those around me.  Forgive me my pride in thinking that somehow the ministries that I have designed are more important than the ones You have laid out before me.

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