Aug
15
2018

The Impeded Stream

Posted in Daily Living | 2 Comments

My granddaughter rolled over today.
My son-in-love sent a short video to all of us.
A milestone was captured.
A moment in time is now saved on my phone.

I admit that I have watched the video quite a few times.
I admit that I cheered along with her mommy and daddy.
I admit that I was urging my granddaughter on as I watched.
You can do it, I said to the video on my phone.

And she did.
I don’t think my granddaughter knew what she did at first.
She was laying on her tummy.
Next thing she knew, she was on her back.

A toy out of reach was her incentive.
Reaching out to try to touch it, she was halfway there.
I watched her do something we adults take for granted every day.
I heard her little grunts as she moved, and stretched, and reached.

It’s hard work to learn new things.
It’s hard work to become mobile when before you were quite stationary.
The fact that her mommy and daddy cheered, delighted her.
It delighted her so much she rolled over three times in a row.

We all loved receiving the text.
Some of us commented as well.
I wrote what I had been thinking as I watched.
It’s beginning. Ella is on the move!

I thought of a quote from Wendell Berry’s, A Real Work.

It may be that when we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work
and when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Parents often come to the aid of their children much too quickly.
A little frustration is necessary for growth to happen.
What if my daughter and her husband went over to their daughter and rolled her over?
What if they pulled the toy closer instead of keeping it just out of her grasp?

When we step in and pave the way, we are not doing our children any favors.
We are actually telling them, without any words, that we don’t think they can do it on their own.
We are stepping in to make things easier but it is more of a hindrance to their maturity.
We forget that we rolled over, crawled, side-stepped, and finally walked on our own.

Wendell Berry knew.
The impeded stream sings.
Confusion and struggle propel us forward.
My granddaughter’s little grunts as she tried so hard to reach her toy, was really a song.

I wrote correctly.
My granddaughter is on the move.
And so are we.
Or at least, we should be.

Are we baffled by our frustration?
Do we see our confusion as part of our growth?
Do we realize that not knowing which direction to go is the beginning of our real journey?
Are we singing when our movement is impeded?

Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)

A way in the wilderness.
Rivers in the desert.
God is doing a new thing.
We do not help God; we are the recipients of the work that can only be attributed to Him.

When we do not know which way to go, we call out to Him.
When we no longer know what to do, we ask for His help.
We are to know Him and love Him with our heart, our soul, and our mind.
Our mind needs to be employed with the things of the Lord.

Then we will sing.
We do not know which way the river of our life is running.
God sees the tributaries.
God sees the times the water is impeded.

God sees us in our frustration.
God knows when we are baffled.
God sees the ebb and flow of our life.
God never loses sight of us for one second.

So we sing.

Back when I was in high school, there was a song I loved.
I played it over and over because I liked the squeak of the fingers on the guitar strings.
Whenever I listened to it, it sounded like the flow of water.
That song came to mind as I thought of Wendell Berry’s words.

If you’ve been thinkin’ you were all that you’ve got
Then don’t feel alone anymore
‘Cause when we’re together then you’ve got a lot
‘Cause I am the river and you are the shore

And it goes on and on, watching the river run
Further and further from things that we’ve done
Leaving them one by one
And we have just begun, watching the river run
Listening and learning and yearning to run, river, run

Winding and swirling and dancing along
We passed by the old willow tree
Where lovers caress as we sing them our song,
Rejoicing together when we greet the sea

And it goes on and on, watching the river run
Further and further from things that we’ve done
Leaving them one by one
And we have just begun, watching the river run
Listening and learning and yearning to run, river, run

The river of our life runs on and on.
We will be frustrated; we will be baffled.
God is right there with us.
Then we will sing.

 

https://youtu.be/KOyUQmqc1Q8

 

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

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