Month: September 2011

  • Foundation Stones...a weekend at Rocky

    I have just come back from a weekend at Rocky Mountain House Alberta, Pioneer Ranch camp, run by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, that is located on Crimson Lake,

    not far from the foothills. 

    This was a 60th anniversary on the establishment of the site….summer camps, outdoor education, riding camps,

    retreat and teaching weekends, a few staff but mostly volunteers.

    So in attendance were many alumni and others who had been involved over the years.  A great weekend of catching up, dog walks,

    canoeing 

    and good food, silent auction and much bidding on other items, stories, humorous and serious songs by many including Wayne “ Cinch “ Arthur, throwing a lad in the lake whose birthday it was, teaching by Neil Graham, and shift of different generations of  strong women in leadership from 86 year old RN Tilley to newly married leader Jenny.

    However what I wanted to share was one activity Sunday afternoon, which involved the building of a cairn.

    Corner stones and piles of rocks have been markers in many different times and cultures, from Old Testament biblical times to foundations of new buildings, some of which may have time capsules to Stonehenge to Inukshuks in the arctic, just to name a few.

    Our theme for the weekend was foundations. One parable quoted that one involved the wise and foolish house builders, who chose either rock or sand as their house foundations with predictable outcomes when the the storms or difficult times hit.

     

    The culmination was a time in which we each gathered up a stone of a variety of sizes and met in small groups outside the lodge. Each person lifted up their stone and stated what it represented and/or what they were thankful for over the years. For example, the 3 cornered rock represented the Trinity, another times of personal growth in their Christian faith and leadership skills, another for safety on outrips on high mountain trails or jumping into waterfalls or crossing flowing high creeks, another the generations of both volunteers and campers.

    Personally as I have been involved since about 1968, from university camps in the 70s, to leading Junior Girls summer camps in the 80s, to family camps in the 90s and work camps somewhat less frequently in the last decade, I was thankful for the role Pioneer has played in the lives of friends and family members.

    Subsequently each stone was carried and loaded into the center of a flowered round about, piled and a comment for what each represented.

    The wafting smells of marigolds were present.

    Later to be cemented with a plaque, each indeed an Eben-ezer stone, a stone of help… “Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help"), for he said, "Up to this point the LORD has helped us!" 1 Samuel 7:12

     

  • Changing Seasons: A Personal Reflection

    “ This is a paradox that repeats in our lives: having to give up one thing in order to have another.”

    Freeman Patterson, Gardening, p.76

     

    The seasons are changing with that late summer beautiful, hot days but nippy nights.

    As per most season changes I have some resistance and or restlessness as I try and hold on to what is and not move forward.

    I love Freeman Patterson’s book http://www.freemanpatterson.com/book12.htm on gardening and photography, both of which are some of my favorites. He states “ the older I get the wilder my garden! “Also comments on how we make choices both in the garden and in our days lives, that at the time we may regret or find difficult to do, but in the long run necessary for further growth. For instance, the pruning of the last rose blooms that were once very magnificent and blowing in the wind, or why am I watering the small tomato plants that have seeded themselves when I know that frost is but weeks, if not days away.

    The pruning is necessary for next year’s growth, holding on and moving forward such a delicate balance. I know from professional background that there is resistance to change, even if it means the maintenance of a dysfunctional relationship or family system. We cling to what we know because we consider it safe and comfortable, perhaps thinking our circumstances are within our total control and this is an illusion.

    Personally what is my resistance my holding on? I know I enjoy the summer and spring so much and there have been too few in recent years in which I have been in Edmonton for a complete season.

    Watching the yard and garden complete the growth cycle is very satisfying. Thought the other day” at least when I am frustrated with other projects in which I am engaged, weeding is the flower beds, shows immediate results and completion! “  To be able to pick Saskatoons, cherries and raspberries from my yard or fresh veggies or herbs for a salad or omelet has been rewarding. Even when I do some volunteer gardening or fruit picking, there is the realization that it is not necessarily the end product, but the process that provides the satisfaction.

     

    Choices are often limited by the circumstances in which we find ourselves and our attitude may be the only thing we have control over.

    However, our choice here can bring devastation and confusion or perhaps joy, clarity, opportunity to our lives.

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About me...

An Albertan & Canadian, definitely a northern gal. Social worker by profession, this blog has included some of my work over 10 years in Nunavut from 2002 on. Passionate about slowing down & taking time to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors or kindness in relationships as gifts & blessings; injustices against children in situations beyond their control; my faith; Nature, experiencing the outdoors whether cycling, walking. x-c skiing or gardening, my dogs, capturing on film God's beauty, experiencing life intensely & with the senses, richness of late afternoon light, wind in my hair cycling with my dog on a beach road, couching inches from an arctic flower or alpine lichen to capture it with my camera, insight of a student's new learning, a good conversation over a coffee.

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