"Come in," she said...

Shelter

“...I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form

'Come in,' she said,

'I'll give you shelter from the storm.'”

Bob Dylan (Shelter from the Storm)

Every spring, when I come to Lake Martin for Memorial Day weekend, my friends have built something new. Last year, an addition to an upstairs porch; this year, a new boat slip with a lift, and a roof over the stationary dock. Today, Ellen is ordering stone to build a wall around an outdoor spa. When you love a place as much as they love this one, there is a desire to enhance it, to make it even more welcoming and comfortable.

There is just one problem with having an inviting roof over a dock---other creatures take shelter beneath it, too. Geese, mostly. Their presence is evident each morning, though they fly away before daylight. Their honking echoes across the water even now, as the sun inches its way above the treeline. It seems every form of life thrives here. Purple Martin houses swing above the water, with martins swooping and circling round and round. In the fish light, swarms of bass minnows zing about in silvered frenzy, snapping up the newest hatch of water bugs. Everything is lush and growing.

We are fortunate to have such an oasis. Even a brief encounter with deep life is renewing. Observing the natural world going about its business in exactly the same way it has for millions of years restores us. We humans exist in such an artificial environment--glass, and asphalt, and brick. We sometimes forget that all around us other creatures are living the ancient way. They take advantage of shelter where they find it, eat what is available to them. They sing, and swim, and wing their praises, and in the process, we are replenished, sheltered, welcomed.

                                                              In the Spirit,

                                                                      Jane