Cosmos Blessings

Water brings the contemplative nature in me to the surface. This is especially true around dusk, be it dawn or evening. It is a favorite time of prayer. I find myself "being" and reflecting upon the grace of things. While walking the docks around our boat, I often come across a great blue heron or two, startle a duck, loon, or grebe. 

This past week I was walking the docks reflecting upon the coming season of spring and the lenten lectionary reading from John 3. Here am I walking at dusk, just as Nicodemus was seeking out Jesus. As I walked I took in the beauty of the world around me. I watched some people clamming across the water, and felt at peace. 

Standing at the edge of the dock, a movement caught my eye. Like two large gifts of the spirit - a pair of swans swam by. I have seen swans in the fields around Ferndale, and we even encountered a couple while in the Squalicum Marina (Bellingham), but I have never seen any here in Drayton Harbor. Yet here they were. And I found myself bowing in respect to these gifts of grace.

And I was reminded that what is often translated into English as "world" is in Greek "Kosmos"=cosmos. "God so loved the cosmos ..." John 3:16 relates. And how to do allow the cosmos to bless us, as we bless the cosmos?