Reflective Wanderer

The Biblical story begins in a garden and ends with a wedding feast. The world is flowing with the tears of the afflicted, from Eve weeping for lost Able, to families suffering loss from the current war in the Ukraine. Everyone must take their own cup of woe. Draining the dregs of sorrow to their bitterest end unflinchingly, like Socrates drinking the hemlock, is a proclamation of the highest valor. To suffer and bless God is the highest image of a saint. All this is a given. A beautiful and harsh reality. Yet there is something added, rejoicing (Philippians 4:4). All of creation is begging you to dance in secret to the music of the wind. If one stops long enough away from the clamor of the highways and finds the peaceful byways, it can be felt. The order of the universe has a dual nature, one of perfection, and one of demonic strife. All that is good and beautiful shares in the nature of God, and this goodness and beauty can be found everywhere. Find it, steal it, and treasure it within your heart. An evil power has been allowed time to corrupt parts of the earth. This will one day end in the new heavens and earth where righteousness dwells, but until that day why spend your days weeping? Love life. Hate evil and sickness. Rage at sadness and death, then turn and drink deeply of gladness. All that is good, true, and beautiful is ripe for the taking; enjoy it without remorse. Revel, roll in riot, laugh, for the earth belongs to the Children of God. The dark wine of life awaits you, indulge to the full.