Pastoral Ponderings—Riparian Zone
I was getting a bit of exercise while hiking through our woods, and ended up with a side trip into our riparian zone. It’s not the friend zone, not the danger zone, not the comfort zone. You might call it the ugly zone, the yucky zone, or other equally complimentary names. I was soggy and muddy to my knees by the time I got out of the riparian zone (the VERY wet zone along a stream bank, river bank or at the edges of other bodies of water).
With all the rain we’ve been having, it’s a real mess of an area. “Why?” you might ask, would I spend time getting muddy and soggy, when as it’s not generally the nicest nor picturesque of areas? Well, I was trying to find more deer tracks—we’ve had a LOT out there! Then I just got distracted and wandered…
Yes, riparian zones are messy—but they’re very important for all kinds of critters, not the least of which area the frogs that are about to sing me to sleep! They’re also essential for our water supply, cleaning and filtering water as it returns to aquifers, allowing areas for water to soak into the water supply below, and providing an abundance of habitat to all our animal friends. Just because it’s messy doesn’t mean it’s undesirable.
Might we have some messy areas in our lives that we’d rather avoid too? But like the animals and habitat around us, the mess is where the stuff of life thrives, and is often necessary, like with our aquifers, for us to recharge and nourish life and growth.
Where are the messy areas in your life today? Do you fuss about them and just see the mud and muck—or can you try to start thanking God for what brings life and renewal, even if it doesn’t seem so nice at the time? Any time we shift our perspective to where we can be thankful and focus on the (often hidden) blessings God has for us, that’s when we can find the recharge and new life that God has in store for us in the spiritual riparian zones of our lives.
Look for the life—and bask in the glory of the symphony of frogs, birds, crickets and the light show of the lightning bugs that are all at their best right where God brought all the elements of life together! — Pastor Jim