Spiritual Perspectives
A Heavenly Vacation

By Ron Polinder
Special to The Independent

It was Elizabeth Barrett Browning who said:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush aflame with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes.
The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.

This insightful quote has been on my bulletin board for years. It helps explain and motivate our work in Christian education at Rehoboth, which endeavors to help young people see that God is very much alive and active in His Creation. Happily, many of our students see and sense that we walk on holy ground and that God is to be honored for the marvels all around us. Sadly, some of us never catch on we just "sit around" or "hang out" never apprehending either the Creator or the Creation.

During our recent spring break, my wife and I took a few days to roam around the Southwest. We headed out (in the snow) toward Phoenix and particularly noted the flowers and vegetation between Payson and Scottsdale. We were headed for a spring training game involving my beloved Seattle Mariners, which they lost, but the warm weather and the crack of the bat made the outcome of the game quite forgettable.

The next morning we drove south to Tucson where, embarrassingly, neither of us had been before. A friend urged us to see the Desert Museum, which proved to be even more spectacular than we expected. The enormous variety of plants and animals, the birds and critters, the flowers and cacti were more than one could take in. In the midst of that experience, Elizabeth Barrett Browning spoke. Well, more accurately it was the Holy Spirit, who brought to mind "Earth's crammed with heaven..."

The dimness of my soul I suppose explains that it took me a couple of days to get beyond the blackberries and enjoy the holiness of what we had been doing. All those flowers and common bushes the previous day were "aflame with God." Those incredible ballplayers, some of whom can throw over 90 miles an hour, others of whom can routinely hit line drives, and still others who so gracefully chase down a fly ball young men all displaying gifts that God has given them. A few no doubt recognize the holiness of their gift, while others no doubt are too dull to notice.

Now more spiritually attuned, we leave Tuscon driving through a virtual forest of saguaros, which only become full grown after a couple of hundred years. How I wish I was more of a botanist, or biologist or a scientist for such folks have so much more knowledge to praise God with, if they can see. Sadly too many can not seem to see the intelligent design of the Creation.

On our way to El Paso to see a daughter, son-in-law and grandson, we stay tuned to the status of Pope John Paul II. We reflected on this good and holy man who embodied that all too rare a combination of a profound mind and an enormous heart scholarly saint! Surely, this was a man "crammed with heaven" before he got there; I wonder what he is like now?

While enjoying a rich time with our family, we also managed to sneak over to the Sun Bowl to watch a college track meet, which included Rehoboth graduate Janelle Hartog running events for the UNM Lobos. I thought of "Chariots of Fire" and that wonderful line "God has made me fast" as Janelle and dozens of others pushed their bodies, their temples of the Holy Spirit, to higher speeds and longer jumps.

I suspect many of you, like me, have gone on a vacation and barely raised an eyebrow toward God. After all, blackberries are so delicious. But last week we discovered "a more excellent way." We took off our shoes!

Ron Polinder is the executive director of Rehoboth Christian School. He can be contacted at (505) 863-4412.

This column is the result of a desire by community members, representing different faith communities, wishing to share their ideas about bringing a spiritual perspective into our daily lives and community issues.

For information about contributing a guest column, contact Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola at the Independent: (505) 863-8611, ext. 218 or lizreligion01@yahoo.com.