Old Faithful Covenant

I was in my preferred position the first time I heard her roar.

I felt safe there, on top of his shoulders, and can still feel the soft reassurance of his ear between my thumb and index finger. (so as not to get too mystical about the whole thing — my mother liked me in that spot so she knew where I was)….

But, there in my safe spot, I felt some invincibility and closest to the clouds.

And it was from this position that I first heard her roar.

Roughly 20 times a day, the geyser in Yellowstone Park erupts.  With 90% accuracy, the next eruption can be predicted, both volume and timing, by the one before it.  The predictability of “Old Faithful” has been constant.  In this time of when much we have held as solid is being dissolved and disrupted, Old Faithful continues to be predictable.

One of the things my father told me toward the end of his life was that what most amused him in my earliest years, was the magnitude of my response.  With effervescence, I responded to the situation at hand.  I think I can still feel the mist that fell while I competed with the geyser for volume in response, while pulling my Dad’s hair for extra security in case we were about to ‘blast off.’

And then it was over.  Till the next time.

“You can always count on Old Faithful…and let go of my hair” he clearly consoled and directed.

100 year old letter press letters (dirty and grimy) on a grungy, paint chippy background spelling out the word Covenant

 The Covenant of Faithful Love
“See, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendents after you” (Genesis 9)

I stand in your grandeur and feel your mist
ground beneath me shakes but does not give way
secure and safe in your midst
confident in your Presence

In the midst and the mist of Covenant
I receive and give
in the open-hearted hands that shudder with the eruption
and dwell in the tranquil silence of the time in between

I am a Covenant dweller
and in the midst of the Covenant,
faithful love is required of me…
to be the words of the prophet Micah
“to act justly, to love tenderly, to walk humbly”

In the Presence of Old Faithful,
I feel the roar of your invitation,
the fidelity of your side of the equation,
and the promise of what will emerge.

First week of Lent…
and in the inner desert, I find both the beasts and the angels,
while the Covenant requires that I am available to emerge…
for…
there is truth to be spoken, love to be lived, rainbows of promise to be followed.

Get some water (and maybe a camel)
We are headed into the desert
And a walking stick would be good.

See you soon,
Bridget

editorial note:  to those of you who are related to me through DNA or marriage … yes, you are correct, that picture was actually taken in the Black Hills of South Dakota…but since all the cameras and film got used up with all of you who were born before me, I gotta “use what I got” — the outfits and actions remain the same