Monday, February 16, 2009

Some things are just odd


This is a fern...I am sure you knew that but for those who didn't...an odd fern thriving in Papua. The view behind this fern is spectacular...we were driving up to the mine site on this road that follows a ridge of a mountain and the vista is breathtaking. On this day...all we could see is odd ferns growing along side of the road. Because as spectacular as the view can be, the clouds and mist that visit the valleys work as consistently to hide the view. On the only day we were traveling along this road...you guessed it, we saw nothing except odd ferns.
Back to the fern, I would have missed it completely on a good day with the view to compete. I would have rather seen the view. This fern is kind of creepy. I could see it accompany a floral design, with beautiful orchids or other flowers that I don't know the names of. It isn't good on its own. It just stands out...all spindly and awkward and odd. But hey! I took a picture of it and now you are looking at it and we are talking about it just because it was odd, not beautiful or breath taking...just odd.
I have been noticing the odd lately. How Mocha barks at plastic bags with abandon...no reason. How words that are familiar don't seem to register on my tongue. That my ESL students seem to want to talk to me about everything even though they are just learning English. That even though Scott and I have been disconnected he bought me a dozen roses for valentines day. That even in the middle of a frenzy...there is peace. While the world seems bent on its own destruction...the sunrise and sunsets are still beautiful.
Maybe we don't have a good perspective on the spectacular...some clouds have rolled in on our view. There is the odd moment of joy, the overlooked splash of peace on the side of the road we are traveling. Stop a moment...look around, the odd is there for the taking. The serendipitous, the coincident..the moment we stop and see Him in the middle of it all.
The best odd of all.

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