A Warm Island Welcome
A Warm
Island Welcome
“The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.” Acts 28:2 New Living Translation
I’ve found I’m a bit of an “island girl” at heart. I lost and found my faith on an island. I tend to operate like an island. I began to meet the deeper meanings of being, daughtering, wifeing, mothering, and sistering on an island. I learned the meaning of grace on an island. I dug up the treasures of the Bible I had long ago buried on an island. I found connection and source to my deepest passion on an island. One of my most favorite vistas on earth is the vast view of the ocean from any place on an island. Island girl, but native out of the Midwest, I have lived the verse Luke 17:6, “And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.” I don’t know who prayed or hoped for me to be uprooted and planted in the sea. No matter. It was done.
As I write, we are preparing to go to Maui. The past couple of years around this time we have been greatly blessed to be able to visit Hawaii. On our last trip we visited Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Within the park I discovered Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire. I learned her legend at the visitor’s center. I recognized her essence within. I’ve pondered much over the beauty of deep magma, intense heat melting rock under the surface in one bright hot cavernous space. Pressure builds gradually within, and then suddenly ejects molten rock that rains down and lands at first under water, slowly layers to breech the surface of the sea. A barren land forms. Rock is alone, until passing birds, and swimming animals happen along with seeds of life, and nature rains down living water to sprout their gifts. Eventually a place arises out of the sea where palms, hibiscus, plumeria, sand, sun, waves become vistas of peace, calm, joy, elation, refreshment, rest, recovery, healing, love, gentleness. Deep magma. Such is God within - my source.
So,
at the same time as I head off for this Maui island trip, I also begin to light
a bonfire fire on my heart’s shoreline in warm welcome to you who are making
the visit this little soul island uplifted from within. I honor, with deep
gratitude, the effort of the journey that you make to visit too. It takes
flights of faith, and sometimes arduous boating though unpredictable waters to
get to islands. Many of you are avid island hoppers. You travel by Holy Spirit-led
whispers of the air and by steady, grace-filled, washes of sea readily from
soul to soul. Most of you are islands unto yourselves, with natives who have
become extreme spiritual adventurers, religious-culture researching anthropologists,
sacred-ancient archeologists, Jesus is my rock climbers, deep-sea of dharma divers,
holy vacationers, and contemplative survivalists. Making regular journeys over
the unpredictable waters of mercy, grace, faith, truth, trust, wisdom you put
out time and effort to explore the many soul-islands to catch glimpses of
impressive waterfalls in tears, caves in hidden darkness, tangles in mental mangrove
swamps, winding rugged roads in life, cliffs of vistas and risk, sunrises in
starts, sunsets in ends, monsoon seasons of depression, jungle forests in lush green
growing confusion with bursts of impressive holy fruits and delicate sweet flowers
of ephemeral surprises, dry beachheads of barren prayer and practice zones, lazy
rivers of inaction bordered by cautious monitor lizards, shorelines greeting
oceans of love, and tide pools bubbling with playful life. May your reading
journey here be blessed with glances at mist-born rainbows of hope, adventurous
encounters with Apostles braving the jungle forest, contented wallows in the
mangroves of madness, and a rejuvenation of your own playful tide pool life.
