When you look closely, it’s all so erratic – sudden storms that come unannounced; death, destruction, and decay; rising creek levels; springtime frosts; invasive species…but when you pull back, pull up, pull out of it, this all appears more constant, more steady than it looks up close. Taken together, these small chaoses add up to a steady, reliable operation. The trees remain. The plants regenerate. The chaos feeds. Life wins.

My emotions, my circumstances, the news, the details- all erratic. Pull back to find a story, a narrative, a purpose. The pain does not go away, but it fades like autumn leaves, repurposed into underbrush for new life. And like the kudzu, nothing can stop it from that purpose.

As I watch this fishing stream, its power taking my breath away, I feel this truth. It rained so much – the water is high, overtaking the rocks it would normally bend and stretch around. It is a reminder of this constancy. In its detail it is erratic, even frightening. But as I go to sleep, it soothes – both the sound and the knowledge that it is steady. It will always run, however big or small. Gravity will always pull it. This tiny stream is a mighty wonder.