June 22, 2007 - Friday
REFLECTIONS
Current mood: pensive

If anyone knows me at some sort of deeper level, they should know of my deep love for water...I love to drink it, I love to see it, I love to be in it (yeah, I know, a little OCD with all the washing of hands)...but I also highly respect it. Anyone who goes on trips on the amazon with us is always cautioned: "Respect the water, it is more powerful than it looks." I grew up on the water and as much as I love it, I know its power and I know just how powerful the Messiah was when He calmed the crashing waves.
I met Al in a very strange way; a mutual friend of ours (whose name was also Alessandro) drowned right in front of my house on the amazon. Al and I met because we had to pick up the pieces of the amazing youth ministry that this guy had left behind. The water was calm that day, until Alessandro got in the small boat to meet his dad at the shore...I didn't see it, but Alessandro's dad did. And everyone who saw it said it was unbelievable. The winds picked up out of nowhere and the waves immediately started crashing. Alessandro was too far from the anchored boat he had come from to go back, and too far from shore to swim in. So, his dad watched the L-rd take his own son's life right in front of his eyes by all the water that surrounded him.
But there is a part of water that goes beyond its power - it reflects reality. You might not think that when you see the distorted view of the world on crashing waves, but if you've ever seen a real (or pictures of a real) peaceful lake or river, you can't tell if the reality is what is above or beneath the horizon. A guy was with us once who was looking at the river as we traveled on it - he said "Why is the water dark in some areas and light in others?" My mom patiently replied: "Look up." The clouds were casting their shadows on the water, but you couldn't tell it by just looking at the "dark spots" of the water.
And that's me. I think I know who I am, until I'm faced with a situation - good or bad, other people reflect back to me who I really am. In the moment, I see the distorted view of who I think I am. But when the waves calm down and I can reflect - the picture I see is who I really am. If I have had a confrontation with someone and they mention something about my character that I disagree with (in the moment), later I look back and see what they were trying to tell me. If I am faced with a hard decision and go with my gut or my "limited logic," later I can look back and see the reality of who I am.
Water reflects reality - sometimes in a way we do not expect. And I guess that is the power of water - not just that it quenches, cleanses, crashes and calms, but it reflects what most eyes cannot see.
Thank you to anyone who has been "water" to me.