After I was intrigued by the death of wonder in the
church and society, I wondered what the Internet might have to say about this
word. On many of the pages I found it quite interesting that wonder was used
many times as a mechanism to describe the creative process. Many of those quotations
were written much as in our title of this weeks article, From wonder springs
this great something.
From wonder springs something that wasnt perceived. So I
wondered what a wonder springs search would turn up?
A long with more notations of the above, I also turned up
a series of references to a real Wonder Springs, but just one. As I searched some more, I
found four different natural Wonder Spring in the USGS maps of the United
States, and a name for a California bottled water. But just one Wonder Springs,
can you guess where that may be?
Of all places, in Death Valley, California. The most
inhospitable spot in North America. If you were to be in wonder of some
springs, I suppose Death Valley would be a good place to consider the
possibility. And just like much of what we see in society today, someone has
their name on it, Keane Wonder Springs.
Further checking showed that Mr. Keane really didnt put
his name on the springs, his name was associated with the nearby gold mine,
which Mr. Keane named the Wonder Mine. Just as his name became associated with
the Keane Wonder Mine, the Keane name also became associated with the springs a
mile or so down in the valley.
Those of you who get the HTML version of this letter will
notice that the picture associated with this weeks mast head is an aerial
photo of these springs from the USGS. What a desolate looking place!
For those of you interested in some Internet playing, the
best place I found to get the picture and map of the area is to use Microsofts
Terraserver at: http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/geographic.aspx
Then put in the geographic coordinates 116 degrees, 55 minutes, 31 seconds
West Longitude and, 36 degrees, 40 minutes, 29 minutes North Latitude. The
decimal coordinate system did not seem to work properly, probably my fault.
This will get you into the neighborhood. By switching back and forth between
the topo map and the aerial photos, as you move to higher definition, you
should be able to pick out a couple of small ponds in the photo and illustrated
on the map.
There is a truth that times of trial and hardship provide
us with the contrast we need to regain or gain a sense of wonder. Is it any
wonder in our lives of material wealth that the springs of wonder may
disappear, because we really dont need them. However in the desert, wonder
springs from our understanding that we are beyond our ability to control or
manipulate the situation. Wonder, perhaps in concert with the apparent utter
futility of the situation, allows us to move beyond the useless, to the
important, and ultimately the necessary.
To visit Keane Wonder Springs, you have to travel to
Death Valley in California. Take the road running between Beatty Junction and
Hells Gate and then turn east on the only road two to three miles out from
either location. Drive up that trail about a mile, and not only can you hike
about a half mile north to the springs, but also about a mile or so east up to
the Wonder Mine.
Whether you take the trip or not depends upon you, but my
guess is if you take the time, you will probably remember your time in Wonder
Springs the rest of your life. Notice, I am not saying that it will necessarily
be a pleasant experience. But the Wonder Springs experience will give you a
different perspective on how you view your current and future surroundings.
A trip to Death Valley is a vacation that most of us
would not consider. But from even our brief Internet journey, we all can come
away from this experience with a deeper appreciation of another valley, the
Valley of the Shadow of Death. We now have somewhat of a limited idea of what
King David might have been going through when he penned the Twenty Third Psalm.
Now being human allows us to many times actually forgo
the from Wonder Springs experience, simply by reading, watching, or listening
to the experiences of others. However, in these cases our experience is more
from the wonder springing from how other people are able to cope with extreme
circumstances. As we learned last week, those experiences may come from
creation and the natural world, or within the spirit of man. These creative
gifts may in turn change the lives of other people in their time of hardship,
or triumph. Both of these
expressions springing from when we learn to operate out beyond our own
controlling personality.
Sunday Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, was our
guest in church. During his talk on the true nature of spiritual warfare, he
used the illustration of Horatio Spafford. From Wonder Springs, Horatio creates
his gift to the world, and Wonder Springs from our inability to completely
understand the creative gift that his pen was able to produce from his Death
Valley, his Valley of the Shadow of Death experience.
Courtesy of the Cyber Hymnal (cyberhymnal.org) and Hanks
book The Covering, (equip.org) we have the following highlights of Spaffords life that led up to his
writing of one of the worlds great hymns.
Spafford lost is business and his wealth during the
Chicago fire of 1871. But during that time Horatio and his wife Anna spent long
hours helping other survivors. Soon after the death of his son, in 1873 his
four daughters were drowned when the ship they were traveling on collided with
another vessel. Anna, however survived and sent him a telegram saying only,
Saved alone. Later, as Spafford
went to joined his wife, as his ship passed near the spot where his daughters
died, Horatio was inspired to pen these words. They speak of hope in the time of pain and grief, which
serve us all. But they also remind us today that from Wonder Springs most
lasting triumphs.
The music was written in 1876 by Philip Bliss, who died
in a tragic train wreck shortly after writing the score.
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain
But, Lord, tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessd hope, blessd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
A few of you received a special mailing last week as, our
new mailing service bounced a number of emails to people I know still have the
same email address. From Wonder Springs the thought of why we are so quick to
complain about our situation. But all in all it was a very good week and much
progress was made toward upgrading this newsletter, the web site , and this
ministry as a whole. As with the working of God it may take a few weeks yet
before these improvements become apparent. Please intercede these ministry
improments.
Throughout our post modern society we have seen the death
of wonder, or wonder experiences. Much of our current social cynicism stems
from making the pursuit of the tangible as the only things worth pursuing in
life. Is it any wonder that our lives have lost the tension we need to see
leaders and dynamic community structures change society.
With that in mind we just completed registering a
wondersprings.com domain name. Just how all this is going to work out I do not
know, but over these last few weeks I have realized that from extreme and
difficult situations, a sense of wonder emerges, and from that wonder, mans
gifts of creativity are uniquely developed. This is true more so, in civil
society than the church, for the church seems to be content to live in Death
Valley and talk about the pie in the sky in the great by and by. But perhaps
the reason that pie is so slow in coming is that God is waiting and wondering
when more people will walk in obedience to His word. Please intercede for the
creation of the Wonder Springs concept.