Post Number Twenty-Seven

MIND YOUR WAKE

There is a narrow channel on our beloved Lake Louise that separates Horner Island from the cottages along Pioneer Trail.  At one time there was a sign along the shore asking boaters to "Mind Your Wake."  Traveling through that channel could be destructive if boaters moved too fast.  The powerful wake of the their passing could knock over docks and damage swim rafts.

I have been thinking about Psalm 23 in preparation for Sunday's sermon.  There is a line near the end of that poetic Psalm that says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  I have always thought of this line as a reference to the love and mercy of God.  Perhaps it is.  But today I am thinking of it in a different way.  What if it is talking about the potential consequences of our own journey through life?  What follows in our wake?  Is it goodness and mercy, or is it a more destructive force?  What will others remember after we have passed by?

Now that Terry is beyond her chemotherapy I find myself thinking about the future and asking myself just what has been the effect of my life.  This comes, no doubt, from our encounter with the reality of our mortality.  Suddenly the possibility that life may not be a long as a we once thought has become a part of our future calculus.  There is no way to tell.  We may both live to be one hundred.  We may not.  for the most part that is out of our hands.  What I do know is that I am now filled with a sense of urgency to make a difference in this life and to consider the consequences of the choices we make more carefully.  I am learning to "Mind My Wake."  I pray that it is goodness and mercy that follows after my passing.

Dave Gladstone