Reflections

Nature's God Church Blog

Archive for October, 2009

Autumn

Posted by Reflections on October 19, 2009

We don’t really get too much frost on the pumpkin here in Central Texas, but autumn is definitely here. We have blessedly cool evenings and mornings, and many days are pleasantly warm instead of oppressively hot. Autumn is the harvest season. The animals are harvesting as well as the humans. The squirrels are enjoying a bumper crop of acorns this year. They need to store up for the winter when they will snuggle up in their nests to stay warm.

In cold climes we humans will also bundle up and spend more time in our nests. Some will come south for the winter like the birds. We will soon see robins here in the south, along with the snowbirds and their camper trailers.

Autumn is a time to pause and reflect over our spring and summer. Did we sow wisely? Spring is a time of vigor and rapid growth. We find fertile ground, plant our seeds and nuture what issues forth. We pull weeds and cultivate. We feed and make sure there is plenty of sunlight and air and water. Then the summer brings strength. No longer seedlings, those things we have been raising mature and prepare to create offspring of their own. They mature and produce fruit. And life is good. We are happy when we have tended our gardens well.

In Autumn we begin to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We reap what we have sown. We prepare for winter, putting things away like the squirrels and the bears, getting ready for winter. In winter we will enjoy a world of gray and white. Weary from our long labors, we will rest more. And eventually we will begin that long, long sleep.

But enough talk of winter. It will come soon enough whether we are ready or not. For now, we will enjoy. The air is clean and clear, scrubbed by the rains that have blessed us after a difficult stretch. The foliage is recovering, gaining needed strength and energy reserves before going dormant.

I am enjoying my autumn reflections just as some of you are enjoying spring. Life is all circles and cycles. We may find ourselves located at different points on the great wheel of life, but we all must traverse the same general path and pass through the same phases. Choose your garden carefully, sow wisely, tend to the business of life, raise your crops to maturity, and then enjoy the harvest.

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The journey

Posted by Reflections on October 6, 2009

On most discussion boards and on my webpage, my signature or byline reads, “The journey, not the destination.” There is a reason for that. I have been watching people come and go on Deist discussion groups for a few years. In that time, I have seen a pattern. You have probably noticed it yourself.

For many of us Deism is where we want to be, now and for the foreseeable future. For many others Deism is a stop along the way. They come to us and announce that they had recently discovered that what they had been believing for a long time actually has a name, and they had discovered that the name for their beliefs is “Deism”. They participate for a while, and then they seem to drift away. Sometimes they are enthusiastic Deists for years, but they reach a point when some particular(s) in their lives begin to conflict with being a Deist. They become Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, Taoists, Unitarian Universalist, you name it. They answer a different calling or respond to family pressures or simply decide that something else is what they need to be, and somewhere else is where they belong.

I never regret the pleasure of their company while they are with us. I wish them well and hope that they find truth and happiness. Only they know how to define those things in their lives.

I insist on being true to myself. I would never deny that to anyone else. If you ask me, I will give you my opinion. If you make a choice, I will respect your decision, irrespective of whether it agrees with my recommendation or opinion. In matters of faith, only you can decide. My moral compass points to two words, “be considerate”. They are my True North, my Golden Rule.

I know for a fact that my life is a continuous journey. I like where I am right now. I am enjoying spiritual satisfaction that I had been missing for over 40 years. But have I reached my destination? While I still draw breath, I would have to say “no”.

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