Possibly Insightful Ramblings

Today in western Christian tradition, we commemorate one of the most significant journeys ever recorded. With gratitude and hope in our hearts, we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, heralded by devoted followers and shouts of hosanna. These humble worshippers rejoiced in their Lord. He had come to save them. They rejoiced in that salvation, their very exclamations denoting a plea for God to “come and save us.” But I cannot help but wonder how much they then grasped of the Savior’s mission. Did they know He had come to die? Did they know this entry into the holy city would be His last as a mortal man? Did they realize that the salvation He was bringing required Him to suffer and relinquish His life to His enemies? Given even Peter’s impulsive, violent response to those a few days later who tried to arrest his Lord, and the doubt and confusion expressed by the apostles when Christ alluded to His death, I somewhat doubt that these faithful welcomers understood the signific...

A few weeks ago, I took a rather spontaneous road trip down to Grand Junction with a couple of my roommates. Between Rudolph bandages, getting lost (twice) in our rental car named Esperanza, a Wal-Mart trip that resulted in four new pairs of shoes, tree climbing, and eating roast beef and gravy at the foot of the Colorado monument, we had our fair share of adventures that weekend. The two nights we spent in that little motel (which pleasantly surprised us) were a moment to just breathe—the last hurrah, the final break from school I would have before graduating in April. As I left behind my academic concerns, it seemed as if I were holding on to a bit of life before plunging back into the stresses and fears of daily living. Careful google research and questioning the town’s natives had led us to select some hikes that we wanted to explore. We were particularly excited about the hike to the Colorado monument.  As we began the ascent to that stunning rock formation, I w...

A few days ago, while walking home, I breathed deeply the smell of blossoms and new life, silently planning what trees I wanted plant around my future home based solely on how they look in spring. As is wont to happen in springtime, Robert Frost’s familiar poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” came to mind. Since my middle school years, I have loved this poem. But in recent days it has come to mean more to me than ever, taking on new shades of meaning, new layers of hope and longing. Nature’s first green is gold Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Few things are as beautiful as blossoms adorning the once-barren branches of trees, reaching upward and taking the eye and the mind of the beholder heavenward. After the seemingly dead world of winter, the new life of spring brings with it a promise and anticipation that can restore ho...