"The Earth is NOT the Center of the Universe"

It was a wonderful day for thought.  The weather was glorious.  January in my part of the world, the Willamette Valley floor in Oregon, is typically gray and grim, cold and dank.  However, January, 2015 has brought with it burgeoning evidence of Spring.  My quince shrub is blooming and brave daffodils are showing their faces. Camellia bushes are awash with color and rhododendrons throughout the area are ready to explode into swaths of beauty. A record was even set this past week for warmth on a particular day in January, with a balmy 68 degrees registered.

Come with me, if you care or if you dare, as I share my meandering thoughts while working in the sun, reveling in the bright blue sky with its fluffy, puffy, white clouds.

The task at hand was to clean up the garden of a former client who had passed away quickly and unexpectedly.  In times past I could feel her presence, fully expecting her to wander out the front door with her smile and her warm greeting.  This time was different.  I knew she is off to other, better, more important things and that the stash of oak leaves which had buried her plants is of no concern to her. 

I spotted the property line marker as soon as I began. If she were still alive I thought, she would be thrilled and relieved to see the bright orange indicator. Not knowing where the line was had brought her a great deal of anguish.  And yet it matters not a whit to her where she is now.

My thoughts continued to wander as I remembered watching a video of a man who had dropped dead and yet fully recovered.  A soft-spoken gentleman, he spoke of what he experienced, his conversation with God, the things he saw, and his life upon returning back to his body. 

Fortunate is the man or woman who knows that this earth and life on this earth is not the beginning and end of all things.  Fortunate is the one who knows the things of mortal life are not transferable into the next one.  No 401k will ever be rolled over into eternity; neither will the merit of any charities or worthy causes. The portfolios of this earth with investments, real estate, and financial statements or listings in “Who’s Who” are of no value in the next life. Nothing of this world is applicable in eternity, whether it is credentials or accolades touted in the fields of politics, science or religion, financial or education--or awards given in any industry, by any group of people. Nothing of this world is applicable, and fortunate are those who know this.  This is truth.

Our physical lives are what we know, what we deal with on a daily basis.  In this electronic age we can readily know what is going on around the world.  Even at that, this earth and life on this earth is not the center of the universe. 

And so my mind roams.  I do not know where God dwells.  However, as I cleaned up the oak leaves in Dorothy’s garden, I decided that the center of the universe is wherever He is, and that is where I want to be.

And now, with my day's work behind me, as I sit looking out the window, fog has enveloped the scenery.  I have wrapped myself in a blanket to ward off the chill.  When I lived on the coast, there was a term for the weather we've had the past few days.  They call it a "false Spring."  The next time I  head off to work I'll put on an extra layer of clothing.  And the thoughts will continue. 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."