The photograph shows a mix of driftwood washed up by the tides, which accumulates on the beach a stone’s throw from our home.
Each of the pieces has a completely different history and story. Often when I pick one up, it is because of its shape which is a reflection of its journey. It just got me thinking about how we are as human beings. Life deals us all kinds of times and moments, which makes us who we are and how we see the world. That is our uniqueness and blessing and challenge!
The driftwood has a history and a story, as we do. The key to all this is that word, drifting. It has that sense of something that might be done to the wood, to us, in our lives. It can have a rather negative connotation, in the sense of a lack of purpose. A sense of lostness or direction. The wood has been through all kinds of experiences, and is shaped by its drifting! I sense that same thing for myself.
Those moments when one ‘hangs on’ through the storm. It can seem somewhat aimless and worrying, but then comes the stillness and the drifting ends for a moment. Rest, beach, calm, recovery…add to the list yourself!
I have always sensed that God allows me to drift, to trust and experience for myself. Sometimes to ‘go with the flow’. To discover that in the drifting, the love of God can be understood and acknowledged. That sense of being lost, without purpose, but discovering that this is the way to trust. To be shaped by the Creator, guided by the breath of the Spirit, and resting in the love of Christ.
Drifting is not wasted time; it is purposeful. It shapes us, makes us who we are, helps us to trust.
Happy drifting!
Musings 