What can we do to restore our faith in our God of wonders….our God who has the power to control the elements and orchestrate the impossible?
Looking more to nature now as our summer gently slides into its final month, I have decided to turn my attention to day trips that occur within an easy drive of Frederick. My thought here is to explore the 4 elements of Water, Earth, Wind and Fire during our weekly meditations that will help us in finding God’s voice in the landscape around us. These are universal truths that have resonated throughout time, and so, I will use them as a sort of hinge for our travels.
I had lived in Maryland for quite some time before I discovered that Frank Lloyd Wright’s greatest masterpiece “Fallingwaters” was within just a few hours drive from my home. Once discovered, to find the time to make the trip became an ever delayed priority.
so then… to finally stand in this living room….to see it with my own eyes… was magnificent.
It filled my heart with visions of lying “beside still waters” and worked like a tonic restoring my soul. As I stood there drinking in all the little details that Wright so lovingly blended together to bring the nature indoors,
I “experienced” retreat and was inspired to imagine myself flowing into the impossible.
It is interesting to learn of the lives that were lead here and the struggles that have been held at bay throughout time but my favorite part of the story is to hear about the moment, Frank Lloyd Wright gave brith to the design.
It seems that Wright had planted the seed of his designing a retreat home for the Kaufman family after seeing this location on one of his trips east. Some kind of agreement was made and upon Wright’s return to his great Taliesin of the west, he made no further drawings or sketches. It wasn’t until Kaufman called early one Sunday morning some 9 months later to announce his surprise visit, that Wright sat down and casually drew up the design for his “Fallingwaters” I can just see him there with his apprentices gathered around as he boldly commentated his vision while drawing the plans in the 2 hours it took Kaufman to drive to the house.
To Kaufman’s surprise, Wright had not planned a home that would sit and look up at the waterfall. Instead he had created a dwelling that would sit like an eagle’s nest perched high with the falls flowing through it!
This design, so ambitious and so breathtaking in its creativity, became iconic during the years of the Great Depression. The sight and beauty of this retreat home inspired a people to believe again in the impossible nature of their American dream.
And so, for our words of meditation this week, let us focus on:
water…refreshment…retreat and how when we allow ourselves this kind of time away it can, if we let it…re-ignite our faith in the impossible.
Imagine, if you will, Jesus just having fed the large crowd of people…the 5,000. He did the impossible; the unimaginable.
After this he sent the crowds and his disciples away so that he could restore himself:
“…he went up on the mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake…” Matthew 14: 22-36
God really does have a flare in which he demonstrates his dramatic power in this episode of the Bible. He captures our attention and desires us to see that he has control of the elements…that his power is greater than the realities of our lives. This story speaks to my mind and tells it to wake up, pay attention and stop trying to call all the shots.
Yes, he whispers to our hearts in quiet ways, but sometimes, once we have spent our time in solitude, he does go in for the “shock and awe” of things. You need only to remember those Hebrew slaves who crossed through the Red Sea on dry land to prove the point.
To dream big dreams; to have visions of conquering the impossible; to realize we can do all things through Christ who lives within us, it seems we must always remember to find time, like Jesus, for rest…retreat…and prayer.
The challenge:
What seems impossible in your life? What have you given up hope of changing? What situations have you stopped praying about? Let just one thing float to the surface and resolve to pick it up again as you flow into believing in the impossible.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the style and flair with which Jesus approached his ministry, performing these magnificent displays of your power. Help us to realize this moment of Jesus walking on water like never before…let this scene really capture all of our mind, all of our strength, all of our heart, all of our soul. Let us each in our own way continue to find moments of quiet solitude that restore our spirit …. and…. renew our confidence in imagining all the possibilities that flow into our future.
Whom shall I fear? In God’s hands… He is always by my side.
Our devotional song this week, this is sung by a sweet little group:
P.S. a little clip to share the experience of Fallingwater:))
God Thru the Arts 