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I am in awe

Approx. read time: 2:40 min.

The student housing complex, under construction, in my nearby neighborhood.

 

I am in awe of the mammoth 12-story student housing complex going up a block and a half from my living room windows.

I am in awe of the bright-orange safety-vest-clad worker who appears to have no physical supports, laboring away on the outer rim of what will be the 10th floor. I am in awe of whoever figured out how to construct such a complex structure.

In this moment I feel how good it is to be caught up in … awe.

I am in awe of the constant flow of the river—my river, the McKenzie—which is the pure and beautiful water source for my town. The river swells, now, with recent autumn rains.

Some people don’t know where their town’s water comes from. The tap, maybe. Mine bubbles up from a small sulfur spring in a little cove of Clear Lake, high in Oregon’s central Cascades.

A miracle of Creation, really.

I canoed, once, over the spring, and was in awe of the amazing gift of water, and mountains, snowmelt, and the ancient lava rock through which this water percolates.

I am in awe of the intact sunken forest standing tall in the depths of Clear Lake, over which I canoe as I head back to the boat shed. An ancient deep green forest, held intact by icy mountain waters. I see what birds see when they fly over the above-ground forests through which I hike each week.

Today I am in awe of the passion and roll-up-the-sleeves commitment that my friends at Everyone Village bring to a courageous vision to house people in my town who lack the means for a place to call home.

Everyone needs community, private space, a sense of dignity, a cozy place to live.

I am in awe of the audacious simplicity of their plan, built on a vision of human dignity, and the flourishing of every one. Not just housing, but community and support, learning and apprenticeships into real paying work opportunities. 

I watch, and wait, as a village stirs to life, built on what I want for myself: human flourishing, a life of meaning, and the radical transformation that comes with genuine inclusion.

Frankly, I am in awe of every news report of the Land of the Rightside Up at work—here, and here; there, and there—in this broken yet hopeful world.

Daily, I pray, “Your kingdom come!” Daily, in prayer, in presence, and in my labors, I press toward the reign of God—the Land of the Rightside Up—here and now.

Daily I remember that Light has come into the world, that the power that flows from Jesus’ resurrection is more powerful than the forces of darkness. 

You, and I, knowingly or not, are carriers of the Light. Our showing up and saying Yes matters! I believe this with all my heart, and strive, in my actions and attitude, to live accordingly.

I am in awe that my assignment is to participate in this resurrection power, to give it shape through my hands, my eyes, my words, my presence, real presence.

We’re all a little bit like those construction workers, laboring as a team, each of us with important tasks, to build something big, bigger than ourselves: the reign of God, where there will be room enough for everybody.

What are you in awe of? Let me know!

Listen to more stories of awe, in my two albums, Free to Be Free, and Living as Jesus Taught, at Spotify.

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