Wafer Thin

"A small thing is not small when it leads to something great" St John of Damascus



Due to a series of events, much like toppling dominoes, my life has become simple. Time itself assumes a different appearance when schedules are free of appointments; when days are not governed by school bells or class periods. It is a dimension of freedom I am not entirely familiar with. Nor, comfortable with. I am familiar, and have grown quite 'comfortable' with 'busy'ness, with full schedules and little down time. It is no small thing to desire a simple life. I am currently chewing on this thought by Daniel A. Siedell- "The distance between the immanent and the transcendent, between the material and the spiritual, is wafer thin." God in the Gallery. I say 'chewing' instead of reflecting because last night I made Matzoh, traditional Passover bread. The key to good Matzoh (and I would not call what I made 'good') is thickness, or rather, thin-ness. Wafer thin. The bread, of course, doesn't rise because of the absence of yeast (symbolic of sin). Hmm.
Several years ago I felt a strong desire to spend time in the woods, alone with the Lord for a few days. It was in the dead of winter but I was, after all, a Boy Scout. I couldn't find the spot I was looking for and before I realized it the sun was setting. Rather than pitch my tent in the dark I found a motel. A cheap motel. My plan was to spend the night in conversation with the Lord. But the room was warm, the pillow soft, and I fell asleep. Almost instantly. Night two was a different matter. On this, the second night, I was in a tent. The outside temperature was well below freezing. The ground was hard. I spoke with the Lord all night. Comfort is a curious word.



In 1848, Joseph Brackett wrote-

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be.

Simple Gifts, Public Domain