Allow: Wild Advent

Beavers seem to be taking over the peaceful little stream that meanders along behind our house. They have constructed a new dam downstream from their other, larger one. How many dams does a beaver family need? One must ask. Yesterday, thanks to a nature cam our son installed to keep an eye on the busy beavers, a gorgeous great blue heron showed up.

She/He was a gorgeous creature. According to at least one source, it can be difficult to tell male great blues from females. 

So much is out of our control: Nature. The stock market. Other people. The passing of time...

Discernment and trust, therefore, must, of necessity, be a daily practice.

We must constantly remind ourselves, "Well, that worked out, and so did that one - never dreamed that one could ever happen..." Like the ancient Israelites who were guided through the wilderness, we often discover God has been walking with us all the way.

Allowing is a practice of observing and "bearing the truth," as poet Danna Faulds writes. Sometimes, allowing becomes our last best, most miraculous resort.

Allow 

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.

Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.

Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground.

The only safety lies in letting it all in –

the wild and the weak; fear, fantasies, failures, and success.

When loss rips off the doors of the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair,

Practice becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your known way of being,

the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.

~~Danna Faulds