connecting the squares

a 2 minute walk from our new house is the coastal trail. Jordan and I have been walking it as much as possible. on friday i was there with my camera as the sun was setting and the light was soft and sweet and the waves were monstrous and inspired. a lot of these pics are a succession of just one wave - sometimes i took 30 shots of one wave as it formed far out at sea, then peaked, then lost control and crashed. i tried to capture the purpose in the power, the creation in the chaos, and the reverence in the rawness.

this saturday night i am alone in the house, cleaning, running errands, and catching up on world news. i'm reflecting on this week - on what i learned. i am trying to connect the dots, somehow knowing that there is a connection, oftentimes thousands of connections, yet some are just so impossible to see, to feel, to know.

jordan is over at our neighbor's house watching the cowboys game. our neighbor's name is John. He and his wife have invited us not only to dinner but also to their church- which meets at their house on Friday nights. John told me that he has been praying for me for a while - he learned that i was coming through a member of his small group who attends a Vineyard across the hill. i have no idea who this random person is, or how they know me, but i am so thankful for the prayers. it makes me stop and smile and realize that God had this planned oh so many years ago. so I have been thinking about God and the dots, and the connections and prayers, and trafficking and slavery.

and i realized- what must be so simple for so many others, but is revelatory for me- is that slavery and trafficking cannot be stopped by humans alone. God must be involved, He must be at the forefront - He has to be the one leading the battle and sounding the horn. And He also has to be in the middle, giving encouragement to us. somehow telling my neighbor across the street to pray for me months before i even arrive in town. and he has to be at the rear - the rear guard. Isaiah 52:12

But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Hemming us in, front and back. Cradling. Protecting. Saving.

And for some reason, all of this reminds me of the waves crashing down on the beach. I am spending my Saturday night trying to connect the dots...thinking about the waves and the slaves and God and man and life and purpose and chaos as i fold our laundry....