In the Rocky place!

 

After a visit to the Rock in the hill, close to the retreat house, for an evening meditation, the group was returning.  The distant view across the valley, to the mountains ahead had dominated my optic till then. 

I happened to look around and noticed a butterfly, a bird and berries in the vicinity. 

Even more surprising was the wet rock surface in one corner, where there was even a small collection of water, which appeared to trickle along the cleft between the rock formation. It could not have been a collection of rain water, as it had not rained for at least 24 hours. 

The last photo above along with those of a butterfly, a bird, and berries became a symbol of surprises in the rocky terrain!

There are hard times in our lives, which we encounter time and again. We wait and look forward to better times. In fact the hope for better times can eclipse the symbols of provision, while travelling through the difficult terrain in life. That was what happened to me during the one hour, we were there in the rock. I kept looking at the horizon and was occupied with the distant sights of the mountain and the sky at sunset. I missed the symbols of provision in a rocky place.  

During a recent season, while I was getting ready to retire form my professional responsibilities, I have had a difficult time, when the consultant for whom I was waiting for to handover came to join, but the conversation with the leadership of the institution did not go well, because of which that person did not join. Since that person worked in the department and got interested in child development, had decided to go for neurology training to return to work in the department. But that expectant waiting for three years did not end well.

I left the department after ten years of attempting to make it into a child development facility, with a disappointment. The future of the department is currently taking a different direction now.

It is after leaving and looking back during the last two months, I found new insights that I can feel delighted about while recalling the experience of the last ten years. The recent encouragements were related to the three booklets published and another three awaiting publication, to highlight the child development practices that parents can pursue in the home environment. Amidst the desert experience of having to watch the facility, which emerged as a good enough facility for child development, fade away into another direction, I have felt encouraged by the several gains of the last ten years. In fact, the experiences of the last ten years symbolise a good enough outcome! The longing for a better future although consumed me for a while, I feel drawn by the gains and outcomes of the last ten years which were several. 

Landing in a rocky terrain along life's journey is common. Even in the rocky terrain, there are symbols of provisions and reasons for contentment! 

The rock becoming a source of water has a Biblical history. Moses struck the rock and water gushed from it (Exodus: 17.6)!

A rocky terrain in one's life journey, is a place of considerable significance. Our formative experiences of inner enlargement and depth of perception would have taken a new meaning during such times. 

M.C.Mathew (photo and text)