Nepenthe

Oct. 9, 2012 Rebekah and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. I almost forgot, but again Rebekah saved me for about 2 weeks before the date, she asked me what I had in mind to do for the 40th.

For the occasion we went up from Los Angeles to Monterery. It was her idea. At Monterery bay we visited places like historic monterey, Carmel,  Big Sur etc.

Since it was a 40th 'celebration', the general mood was supposed to be 'celebratory', but it was not so, for since my wife has a pacemaker she feels/is sort of incapacitated. It's been three months since the surgery, but still she has difficulty to lift anything of weight with her left hand. As my better half has gone weak I myself have been partially disabled. The two nights three days journey involved doing trails. But she grew tired quickly so I could not walk briskly.

I took some pictures of her. She took pictures of me also. But I was not enthusiastic about it not only because I am not photogenic, but also because I do not like to see an old man in the  picture. Oh, we watched sunsets twice. But I did not like sunsets either, for sunset reminds me of my own sunset. So the mood has been somber from beginning to end.

But as I was waiting for the return flight at the Monterey Municipal Airport, I meditated on the words of the Prophet Isaiah and regained a joyous mood. I was reminded that we thought about "us" too much.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. Isaiah 12:6

By God's grace we the Gentiles have been grafted into the natural olive tree and joined the heavenly choir - the people of Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, singing for joy.

Why should we be and indeed are joyful? The reason is not because of us but because of Him. Despite ourselves, we rejoice and sing for joy for we have the great Savior. In what respect is he great? Two things ought to be mentioned: His holiness and his being the Good Shepherd.

Holiness has to do with him being set apart or different from all the rest. In what respect is he different? Only in one sense and one sense alone: he alone is self sufficient. His love and power are infinately great. He is independent of all, so all of us who are limited can always depend on Him who in turn can make us sufficient.

His being the God of Israel offers us another reason to shout aloud. Israel is the result of God shepherding over Jacob, for thanks to God's shepherding, Jacob an earthbound man became Israel a man whose vision and hope are with God. [Israel means the one who struggled with God and with men, and won victories.]

The American Airline assigned a small airplane (AA #3109) holding about 40 plus people). I was seated at 2A, Rebekah 3C. She already fell asleep. It was a short flight taking about 50 minutes. And I am writing this blog during the flight. And I was no longer sad for what we've become. In fact all of our weaknesses and drawbacks provided me with the reasons to give thanks to Him. After all if we/I had been all strong (and stayed young for good) why would we need a Savior?

Sing for joy then for great is the holy one of Israel!

P.S. At a store at Big Sur, I bought a hat - the one in the picture. On seeing the hat on display I was curious about the word "Nephethe" so I asked the lady at the counter, "Ma'am, what does Nepenthe mean?" She said, "It means "a drug of forgetfulness. It means 'You can forget your sorrows. It is in a Greek mythology."


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