Time For Church

Sunday’s are special up here. When we are at home we go to church. Here we feel as if we are already in church. Living on a lake surrounded by the created world infuses life with a level of transcendence that’s missing in the everyday existence of most people. Its difficult to discover the spiritual when you’re drowning in the struggles of the here and now. But up here its hard to avoid the spiritual implications of such natural beauty. Hearing the loons call across the lake after dark stirs something in the heart. Spying an eagle atop his nest, then gazing at his majestic flight overhead speaks to your inmost spirit in ways both mysterious and profound. For me, I find in these moments the suggestion of the divine. For others not spiritually inclined they might just be beautiful birds, but for me they are reminders that everything is fearfully and wonderfully made. Even the fish I pull out of the water shimmers with life and wonder. I look at their perfect lines, the efficiency of their movements and how they fight for life. When I gently place them back in the silky water they dart once again into the deep and I am enchanted.

This morning is once again sunny and still, another in an almost unbroken string of nearly perfect days since we arrived. At some point we will get a rainy day. Maine needs rain, its in the midst of a state-wide drought, the lake as low as I can ever remember. Yesterday afternoon we were invited over to Loon Landing for wine and cheese by the owners of the fabulous property which will be our home for the last four weeks of this vacation. We sat on their lakeside deck just a few feet from the water and talked about what it was like when they found the place 15 years ago. Carolyn got us caught up on the latest lake gossip and Keith gave me some tips about the boat that they are leaving for our use. The thought of being able to finally share this place with our kids for the first time in a couple weeks makes us giddy with expectation. They are going to fall in love with it just as we have. They won’t be able to help themselves.