Leaving Callingford

It was a very good 4th for us.  I really have considered freedom and the cost of it a lot lately and the holiday seemed to fall at the perfect time for these considerations.  Seeing the debacle with Casey Anthony getting away nearly scot free seems to accost the very though of justice.  I have a little girl of my own…two in fact though one is now going to turn 16 in August…the other is only 5 years old so this seems to strike very close to home.  I just feel sick at the thought of how these days it’s always about a kangaroo court and a miscarriage of justice.  So much tries to damage my faith these days in our country but the more I think about it the more I feel this shows how freedom is a thing we personally must exercise regardless of what the majority does.  Freedom is dishonored when there’s no personal responsibility or fear of God.  There’s no such thing as collective salvation…it’s a personal thing and when we are united by our personal commitment to God and each other our nation will be exalted.  Regardless of the majority’s decision my mind is made up:  I choose to do right and will set that example for my family.  Courage to do what’s right no matter what is what we all need.  Well, moving on…

Leaving Callingford left me left me feeling blessed to have seen it at all.  I was so very thankful for Pastor Sackey and Ade who so graciously drove us around and showed us the sights.  Here is Ade with my mom in Callingford.  I miss the winding paths of Callingford and the gorgeous green that only Ireland can masteryet I know we haven’t seen the last of this place.  The rolling hills and fog covered countryside forever remain in my heartand our memories I will treasure and guard…much like this unusual rooftop dragon guards its house.  Walking through opportunities in life must be appreciated because you never know when they might close.  Life’s gates can only be opened or closed by Godso I treasure the gateway moments and relish all the sights I can while I’m seeing them because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  We can’t figure it all out in our mind…we can only walk the path before us and keep the faith that God has given us.  Other’s have walked where we walk beforebut when we walk these paths they seem completely new and exciting.  I love the doors of Dublin but also the chimneys that have old European flair.  The village and the farmland meet in a way that seems familiar to what I know here in Montana yet it’s also different and unique.  Little shops like this one are a real joy to witness…I’m used to big chain stores but these are all about mom and pop.  Just look at these smoke stacks, I’ve never seen anything like that here in America.  I’m thinking this smoke stack quit smoking and went green!  There was an old ship rotting away in the harbor…not sure what the story of this thing was but I thought it beautiful even in its decay.  It was moored with some very large ropes.  Not far from the pier lies King John’s Castle.  With a final glance at the mooring for the good ship Catharinawe finally began to walk our way back toward the castle.  I knew this pier was something special because I actually captured a shot of my son and older daughter Danielle and a bonus of Lovely taking a picture too!  I honestly don’t know how much longer some of the metal on this pier will last.  Occasionally the sun broke through on the distance shoreline and drew my camera up to my eye once again.  I have to smile at some of the signs I saw in Ireland…they do have a way of putting it don’t they?  King John’s Castle couldn’t have more beautiful citizens then it does now.  Where people once peered out of windows now Sea Gulls gazed at us with mild suspicion.  Looking out from the castle sometimes reminded me of the scenery around Loch Ness.  The castle itself is slowly being over run by the green that covers Ireland.  I doubt the sea nearby has changed much over the centuries.  It was all peaceful beyond measure.  Heading out at last we gazed at the village proper…will we see this place again?  I guess only God can tell.  All we have is a speck in all of timeso we should make the best of the moments we have, smile when we canfor tomorrow is not our own.

If You Knock the Door Will Open

There’s a lot of ways a person can look at a door.  Sometimes we can look at it like a bared way that we can never pass.  Sometimes we can walk right by and ever wonder what lies behind it.  Ireland had a lot to see but we didn’t enter in the door of many of the places we saw.  Some places were actually a ruin but were still closed to the public.  The times I treasured most were the ones that found us actually entering into a door to find what was beyond.  Bars and gates can only hold you back if you don’t realize where the open door lies.  Locks can only intimidate when you don’t have a key.  Historically these walls served to protect  and provide shelter to its residentsbut I felt no intimidation from these walls because in this era it was simply a relic of times past that couldn’t restrict me or hold me in.  Now it was a place we could wander freely and even have some fun.  I found myself drawn to the windows in this place and the freedom that lay beyond.  I’m sure that back in the day this place was a tremendous strongholdbut now most walls were showing their age and the windows were no longer bared.  There were no hidden bowmen or boiling oil awaiting the charge of an army full of knights.  The way is open and clear.  Its amazing how simply turning around you can see how dark and foreboding this place can appearyet all you have to do is turn around and you can see how easy it is to escape.  Outside there was no shadow of turning and the rare sunlight was shinning brightly.  Now the ramparts lie still and quiet.  Beyond lies the green grass and freedom.  I hear the echoes of a deep spiritual meaning here and I hear the whisper of God’s voice beckoning to take His hand and depart the walls of frustration.  The place where my faith has struggled like a tiny plant in a cold grey wallis now a place that I am free to leave.  Now hope springs up eternaland it’s time to come up again yet higher.