A Word From Jayber

"I try not to let good things go by unnoticed," said Jayber Crow as he reflected on his move and his new life in a small cabin by the river.  He then goes on to speak of the way Spring foliage closes in the cabin, the way the leaves drop in the fall, and the way the river sometimes floods and sometimes is filled with ice.  But, as we get acquainted with this character created by Wendell Berry in his book, "Jayber Crow," we also catch a glimpse of a man who is noticing far more than just the changing nature around him.  He also notices people, the way they live, the way they die, and the way God is present in the midst of everything between birth and death and beyond. 

 

There is a part of me that longs to be able to at least claim a distant kinship with old Jayber.  A word that has been impressed upon me so many times in this final season of my life is "Pay attention."  When we are young, we embrace the illusion that there is an unending number of years to be lived, but as the time passes, the illusion fades and the reality of a finite life intrudes.  Jesus spoke of considering the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.  He taught using images of sowers, and shepherds, and springs of water.  He obviously was aware of what was all around Him and He was constantly pointing those alongside of Him to live with a present awareness.

More and more it seems that living any other way is to live in such a way that we risk wasting the trip God has given us upon this earth and through the span of our days.  Too often we become so pre-occupied with what is going to happen that we are unable to see what is happening.  Too often we are so caught up in worrying about what other people think of us that we forget there is nothing more important than what God thinks of us.  I think Jayber had it right when he spoke of noticing the good things as they pass by for all and everything that passes by is something which has first passed through the providential hands of God and, therefore, is surely worth of all our attention.