the swan

This morning was, by all weather accounts, miserable.  It has been cold, rainy and blustery for over 12 hours.  So it came as a pleasant contrast to spot a beautiful white swan right in front of me at the local pond I visit for morning devotions.  I was struck with the size and grace of this bird as it paused, unafraid of the sound of my truck, a mere 20 feet away.  Slowly the regal creature glided away from me as I noted that there was no sign of effort in her motion.  Her elegant long neck seemed to rise up from the water like a roman column seemingly separated from the lovely mound of snow-white plumage that artfully covered her body.  In the midst of a miserable morning there was perfect beauty right in front of me.  I suppose life can sometimes seem like today's weather...prolonged storms and struggles of experience, relationships, health.  We can be battered by life's winds and pelted with freezing rain by uncaring people and we can feel isolated by it all.  But, like this morning's swan, Jesus arises from the pond in the midst of our weather.  He waits patiently and gracefully before us in purity and moves within us and before us in such a way that expresses peace and promises beauty in the midst of the storm.  Like the swan, we cannot see how He moves but we are confident that He is the master of the pond that is our life.

 

Psalm 107:²⁹ He calms the storm,
         So that its waves are still.
 ³⁰ Then they are glad because they are quiet;
         So He guides them to their desired haven.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith