Lockdown 78

Lockdown Day 78 - 12 June 2020

At last! Winter has arrived in full force. This morning's walk was something wonderful. Literally every garden was clothed in a thick white blanket of twinkling frost. I tried to photograph it but it didn't look anything like seeing it with the naked eye. For a moment I felt transported to Den Burg, a little town in the Netherlands I was fortunate to visit. 

It was in the winter between Christmas and New Year and the gardens looked just like I saw today, except it was snow. Den Burg is situated on the island of Texel and one can only get there with a ferry. It is that kind of time-stands-still town. A slow living town where everyone has time for what really matters. They do life as a profession. 

Slow living respects life, especially the ones that matter. It also teaches us about what and who really matters. I remember trying on a handwoven jacket made from handspun wool (Texel is known for this). To this day I regret not buying it. It was like Joseph's coat of many colours, it's warmth inviting. This is how life is meant to be lived. Multidimensional with layers that nurture the spirit, soul and body. Something you can't ever get tired of. 

Of course we need to rest when tired. But the life I am talking about is in the blood coursing through our veins, every heartbeat a reminder of the fragility thereof. Today, as the shadows drew out in the late afternoon, I heard of a little four month old baby who left earth to be with his Creator. And suddenly life seemed so broken and unfair. And much too temporary. 

Just as each piece of wool has its place in that jacket to make it whole, each moment of today matters. Every touch, every look, every colour and the light it reflects. Even the flaws are woven into the jacket on purpose. The value of such a jacket is not the wool or it's price but what it represents. 

Think about it: if all of our life was stripped away, what really has lasting value? What will withstand the test of time? How much attention have we given to those things? 

So tonight I want to rejoice over the things that make life worth living. Family, friends and the world God has loved so dearly, He gave up Hís Son so we could have life and life in abundance. All we need to do is talk to God about it and make Him our own. Building a relationship with ourselves, our closest and God is the true secret behind the value of life. He is good all the time and He's got this.