The Niagara Falls are breathtaking but white water can also be scary
I have spent a little bit of time on the Amazon. It is a lot wider than the Niagara River and 20% of the fresh water in the world flows through it. As the Amazon meanders it continually adjusts it’s course so that charts are out of date almost as soon as they are published. On flatter land water tends to follow the line of least resistance but at times of changes in elevation or the headwaters in the mountains it behaves differently.
When under pressure the river has drive, direction and depth.
The Niagara Falls are breathtaking but white water can also be scary
I have spent a little bit of time on the Amazon. It is a lot wider than the Niagara River and 20% of the fresh water in the world flows through it. As the Amazon meanders it continually adjusts it’s course so that charts are out of date almost as soon as they are published. On flatter land water tends to follow the line of least resistance but at times of changes in elevation or the headwaters in the mountains it behaves differently.
When under pressure the river has drive, direction and depth.
Day 84
The last couple of nights we have been at Niagara Falls. It is an impressive place and we have brought quite a few of our visitors to Canada here. I have been to some well known locations in the world that turn out to be slightly disappointing when you get a chance to see them for yourself. Structures like the Leaning Tower of Pisa or The Little Mermaid have legends that are hard to live up to in the flesh. (Apologies if you are from Northern Italy or Copenhagen and hold these things dear.) The first time I went through the Channel Tunnel I found it quite anticlimactic. I am not sure what I was expecting, perhaps a perspex wonderland of sea life and shipwrecks, something more akin to a Disney ride than industrial transportation. At the very least they could have painted a huge crack with luminous paint. The Falls at Niagara are not like that, they continually exceed expectations.
Talking of great expectations, Charles Dickens wrote to a friend describing his visit to the Falls in 1842
“I hurried to the Horseshoe Fall. I went down alone, into the very basin. It would be hard for a man to stand nearer God than he does there. There was a bright rainbow at my feet; and from that I looked up to -- great Heaven! to what a fall of bright green water! The broad, deep, mighty stream seems to die in the act of falling; and, from its unfathomable grave, arises that tremendous ghost of spray and mist which is never laid, and has been haunting this place with the same dread solemnity -- perhaps from the creation of the world.”
David in one of the Psalms references the same power of crashing water as a reminder of the presence of the Lord.
“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (42:7)
The sound and the spray testify to the power of the falls. The American Falls and Bridal veil Falls are great but the Canadian Falls are in a class of their own. There is something about water that brings an adjustment of perspective, a creative spark or a moment of peace.
Waterfalls are invariably different from the rivers that feed them and that they flow in to.
I have spent a little bit of time on the Amazon. It is a lot wider than the Niagara River and 20% of the fresh water in the world flows through it. As the Amazon meanders it continually adjusts it’s course so that charts are out of date almost as soon as they are published. On flatter land water tends to follow the line of least resistance but at times of changes in elevation or the headwaters in the mountains it behaves differently. When under pressure the river has drive, direction and depth.
Passages of white water in our lives can be pretty scary. Beyond the thrill of the moment proximity to danger quickens our appreciation of the safety of the shore. We cling on for dear life wishing it could be over but simultaneously experiencing a heightened appreciation of what we have, who is with us in the boat and who is shouting from the shore.
We do not choose the pressure but it can lead to drive, direction and depth. I see this in people who have coped with much more than I have for much longer. I see friends coping with serious illness, the issues of old age, the frustrations of the pandemic, challenges in relationships at home, work and church and the implications of change. All these bring pressure and some turn into white water moments. I also have brothers and sisters around the world especially in the IFES family who experience persecution and suffer for their faith.
The writer to Hebrews speaks of persevering under this kind of pressure.
“Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse— some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.” (10:32-39 MSG)
So looking at these great falls and reflecting on my recent and current inconveniences I am reminded again of my own smallness.
Today I remember brothers, sisters and friends under pressure. May the spray of His grace turns our face, the roar of His song be music to our ears and the sight of His suffering shift our perspective.
Today I am thankful for beauty. I am grateful that the power and grandeur of God can be experienced as much in a cell as by a waterfall but I am glad to be standing in this place. I am glad to be here with family.
I am also thankful to be back in this place which I visited with another family when we brought the Breaking New Ground crew here during our network gathering in 2019. I trust they are staying with it, surviving and trusting all the way.
The falls are a good reminder.
Psalm 84 is also a good reminder. It is perhaps the most memorable of the psalms of the sons of Korah. It is a promise that our home is and will be with the Lord.
“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young---a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.” (84:1-12)
It is really a pretty good song for a new year.
God loves you
His word is true
The Resurrection of Jesus changes everything
Our hope is real
Be strong in Grace
Encourage the good
And may the Lord Bless You