It’s 2 am and the ranch is finally still after a long day, the babies are sleeping peacefully in their cribs, the toddlers are splayed out on their beds, some upside down, some sideways, but all fast asleep. The night was filled with typical household chores; cleaning, laundry, dishes, but for what feels like a quick moment, everything is calm, til’ in the blink of an eye the chaos of running after 12 kids will start once again as the sun makes its return. Any minute I will hear little feet patter on the floor proclaiming their need for the “baño” and “agua”. And so the day begins in Tijuana Mexico at the Casa Cuna orphanage. But for now I sit on the couch and enjoy my moment of rest and calm.

It has been a crazy week full of interacting with black widow spiders, walking over the US/Mexico border to go to Walmart, and attending a very patriotic watch party of the soccer game between Mexico and South Africa.

There is always something happening and its constant chaos, however before it all starts there is a calmness that prepares for the storm. And if we prepare wisely for the storm it will pass with little damage. Glory to God for all things; the storms and the calm.

Don’t feel like you belong? Well, that’s probably because you are not of this world… Through all the brokenness, longing, and ravishing, a silent figure approaches but keeps silent, he knocks but does not enter. He too is not of this world even though he entered it. He created it in perfection, and it will one day be refined to perfection but right now we are in a cosmic drama of having the choice of which side to join: life or death.

There is a piece of art that adorns the walls of Keble College, Oxford in their side chapel called The Light of the World. It pictures Christ wearing a crown of thorns, holding a lantern that is shedding light on the dark scene, and knocking on a door. Painted by William Holmen Hunt in 1853, this icon is hauntingly beautiful in its use of light. And while much can be said about the brilliant workmanship of the masterpiece perhaps what is most remarkable about the painting is what is missing; the doorknob. The door on the outside lacks a doorknob. He knocks but we must answer.

Though we resist it, our very being is crying out to answer the one who gives us life. The angels and the saints are praying for us to finally give ourselves wholly to our creator; not just our good parts but the broken, and the hurting parts. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)  

References

“The Light of the World.” Keble College, http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/about/chapel/light-of-the-world/.

Francisco, Don. Adam Where Are You? 1977, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKB2Q7JOIws.