At the Clearing

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At the Clearing

There was that moment when I saw you at the clearing, 
But I am ahead of myself.
And why shouldn’t I be?
Delighted to recall, remembering with joy –
I found you when I wasn’t looking for you!

I cut through the dense bush along the shore,
alone and not knowing what I’d find;
The hot day let my blood flow easily from
wounds opened by thorns and motion slowed by brush;
I (finally) came upon the beach.

When I saw You at the glade – You had been waiting for me.
“We can go now – we’re heading home.”
There you had the canoe ready,
packed and paused patiently;
And I lingered there.

I looked around to see where I was
Behind me, the darkness of an unformed void
growing back-in as fast as I had cut-through.
To one side the hills sprawled up the valley;
To the other side the river flowed languid and cool.

You directed me to the front where my paddle lay
And you nudged us into the current.
There have been many good days
But there are no more beautiful moments
than when I am aware of Your presence.

And I am with You,
sitting, coasting, or paddling, in speech or silence.
That you waited happily and moved us peacefully;
That your Abba is my Abba
Comforts me to worship.

It was at the glade that I remembered You,
not from a distant past, but from an eternity near;
There was that moment when I saw you at the clearing
that I tried to catch my breath and say something,
And all that came out was wordless wonder.

Inspired by a prophetic dream March 13/01, when I found Jesus waiting for me after I had bushwhacked through the thick brush for hours along the river of my childhood home.  Profoundly welcoming and comforting, I have been in His canoe ever since.