There is a moment in the life of the Great Hudson River most days, that I look forward to catching sight of as often as I can. It is perhaps the most beautiful moment of the daily journey of this Great River and I always feel blessed when I get a chance to experience it.

 

The moment I am referring too is an instant when the river seems to stand completely still! It is a profound scene. There is no discernable movement what so ever. The water of the river looks like a mirror. It is an especially beautiful scene in the early morning as the sunrises or late at night under a full moon in the midst of a gloomy winter.

 

Now you might be scratching your head at this point wondering how this could be possible on such a busy waterway. After all the Great Hudson River is a tidal river, meaning that there is a high and low tide each day on the river. Now put this together with the river’s natural flow or current and the effect that weather, especially wind has on any body of water and one would wonder how this Great River could ever stand still!

 

Well, believe me it does. I have seen it and it is one of the most beautiful moments one can imagine. It is a great time to pause for perhaps a few moments of sacred river musings!

 

I am not sure I can technically explain what happens but I have some idea. Since this Great River is a tidal river there are the times each day of high and low tide, two moments in the daily life of this river when transition or change are about to occur. The river is about to change directions, to either rise or fall once again.

 

It is my musing that it is at high or low tide that the river pauses. Especially when it is at high tide because in a strange way I think the natural current of the north to south flow of the river is even made to pause as the swell of high tide holds the river in place. Thus for a moment the river is suspended. She stops and waits. It is almost as if the Great River rests or takes a deep breath to gather herself to continue on her never ending journey.

 

This moment of waiting, to me, is a sacred moment. Each time I stumble upon it, I stop. No matter how busy I am there is a voice that says, “stop with Me for a moment, see yourself in Me.”  Thus, I stop and there is silence, beauty and God reflected everywhere I look! For you see, I believe that whether it is a Great River, some other element of nature or a human person, God calls us to stop in the midst of life in order to see the reflection of God around us and with in us! 

 

As I mentioned above, when you have a chance encounter with the river at this moment of rest, this moment of quiet you will notice that she looks like a mirror. Everything around her reflected in her. Perhaps it is the very invitation that God offers us each day in the midst of our busy life.  “Stop with Me for a moment, see yourself in Me.”

 

I offer you these simple sacred river musings because these thoughts about the Great River reflect much about the sacred seasons of Advent and Christmas that we enter into and celebrate these days. Year in and year out the Church tries to remind us through God’s Word that we need to stop and wait. That in the midst of Advent and Christmas we need to stop, wait, rest and take a deep breath, so that we can look more deeply around and within ourselves for Christ being born at this moment in history so that God might once again be reflected to us and within us!

 

Sure, when the river is moving things are reflected in it, you see many beautiful things. However, you do not see them clearly. They are clouded by the movement and the activity of the river. It is only when the river reaches that point of calm, of rest that the clear beauty is encountered.

 

Our life is full of much busyness. We encounter God at time in this busyness, but like a reflection in the moving river, God’s presence is not always clear. There is too much activity, too much movement; often we are left struggling to find God and sense God in our life’s journey.

 

The terrifying storms that have swept across our Great River, called life, these past few months have certainly clouded God from our sight. It has been hard with the waves of emotion, change and struggle to know just were God is. We have tried to busy ourselves these fall weeks in the hope that better days might come. That the pain and struggle might somehow pass by us. 

 

Perhaps, God’s gentle voice has quietly tried to remind us to stop, to rest, to take a deep breath and to wait so that in the stillness of that moment we might just see God profoundly reflected in ourselves!

 

My prayer for you during these sacred seasons of Advent and Christmas is that you will truly find that moment of high tide in your life. That moment when the power of God stops everything, all the busyness, struggles, anxieties and distractions of life, so you will have the chance to experience that still point, that waiting point. Yes, life is busy. Yes, it is often hard to stop and rest, to stop and wait. However, when you reach that moment of high tide, I pray that you will stop and look at the reflection of life around you, because it will be your reflection, the true gift of who you are, a person created in the image and likeness of God. An image that will help bring God’s presence to others and remind you that God does rests within you. Then take a deep breath and live life once again but always be on the lookout for high tide, for that still moment, for that moment of waiting once again!

 

May you and your family have a New Year rich is presence of God!

 

Peace in the Christ Child,

Fr. Paul

To Contact Me:

Email: Preachermancp@cs.com

Sacred River Musings

Sacred Musing of a Retreat Director and Wandering Preacher

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