1984 and Then Some

Yes, it's been a while.  If you are familiar with my chosen profession, you'll understand that I've been quite busy lately.  However, it's all good.  Very, very busy, but good.  Nonetheless, I've fallen behind in putting things up on the thedaver.net.  Here are some nuggets of information to serve as an update:

Just finished the book "1984."  Amazing.  Disturbing.  Haunting. Depressing.  This is writing and storytelling at a very high level (obviously...I mean, the book is famous).  I had forgotten, or perhaps never realized, how powerful and...oppressive...this book is.  Truly a tour de force, one I found hard to put down, and was sad to finish.  This kind of book is why I love to read.

My older brother just had his 48th birthday.  Almost 50, he is.  I don't see my older brother much as he lives in Croatia with his family (wife and two sons).  Like most siblings, we've certainly had our differences over the years, but I really love and respect my older brother.  I wish we were able to see each other more often.

I find prayer to be somewhat confusing.  I won't go into the several intellectual and emotional issues I have regarding prayer, but they do exist.  That being said, though, I'll tell you this - when things get serious, especially for people I'm close to, I find it easy to pray.  There is a couple whom I adore with my whole heart, whom I consider some of my best friends, among the very best people on earth, and they are having a very difficult time right now.  Not only does my heart go out to them, but I find myself praying for them constantly, almost sub-consciously.  I am very reluctant to pray for myself (part of the confusion), but when it involves people I love, prayer comes naturally, despite my questions.  "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!"

Every time I have an opportunity to  speak about my experiences in Africa, I feel as if my heart might burst.  My eyes always water, my throat tightens up and I start to sweat.  What does this mean?  And when will I get back to those kids?

That's it for now.  I'll try to do a better job now that things are settling into a sort of routine.

A Long Time Ago...

The desert of southern Utah presents a few dominant themes:

Time - the geology, the landforms, the erosion, the rivers...it all communicates vast spans of time.  Standing by the side of the road, pondering the Seuss-like landforms all around, it is impossible not to think of the eons and eons of time it took to sculpt such things.  Furthermore, sightings of sea fossils, petrified sand dunes, frozen ripples from an ancient sea...these things contribute to the sense of great age.  It's hard to avoid feeling quite temporary in the desert.

Within Canyonlands National Park.

Wind, Sand and Water - these forces act, in conjunction with time, to carve the desert.  As I stood just north of Grand Staircase in the teeth of a 50 mph wind storm...feeling the sand particles needle my skin...it was pretty easy to see how wind and sand act as primary shapers.   Walking through slot canyons carved by centuries and centuries of flash floods, rains and torrents, the undeniable power of water is quite obvious.

A narrow wash carved by water

Layers - everywhere you look, layers.  Old sand dune deserts, sediments from ancient oceans, vast plains from pre-history, forested basins...everywhere is evidence of what came before.  The lower the layer, the older the earth.  Geologists have it all labeled and categorized, have established time-lines and scenarios.  The names of the layers conjure mystery, history, wonder.  Navajo Sandstone.  Summerville Formation.  Kayenta Formation.  White Rim Sandstone. Moenkopi Formation.  What would it be like to see 270 million years sped up, compressed into a 2-hour movie?  Faults lifing and falling, oceans advancing and retreating.  Forests flourishing and dying.  Layer upon layer.

Layers of Entrada Sandstone, born of ancient tidal flats.

God's Imagination - of course, for a Christian, this is all just a reflection of the Creator and his infinite imagination.  I know some don't give any credence to the idea of geologic time, to the notion of millions and millions of years, of imperceptible erosion and shaping by wind and rain.  Perhaps they are right.  As for me, Utah reminds me of the agelessness of God, of His imagination, of his power and, even, of his sense of humor.

Wind. Rain. Time. Imagination.

Wrong Turn...

And ended up on the moon.

Utah?  Or the Moon?