Addiction and Spirituality

I have a friend who is a recovering alchoholic. I believe he may be the most spiritual person I know. Why? Because my friend knows in his own strength he will fail and succumb to his addiction. He is totally dependant on God's strength and power. He knows very intimately that in Christ and only in Christ can he conquer his addiction day by day.

One-Lane Bridges

One-lane bridges like this covered bridge near my home create a great excercise in community-building. Upon approaching this bridge, two people heading in opposite directions, each desiring to reach their destination, must exhibit courtesy, take turns and wait patiently. If these commonly known rules of one-lane bridge ettiquette are not followed then a stalemate occurs. The motorists and their cars end up in the middle of the bridge facing one another each demanding the other relinquish his or her rights and back up. No one gets to where they want to go, especially those unfortunate motorists who happen to come along after the faceoff has begun. But it is amazing to me that this rarely happens!
Even during the busiest trafic hours, in my experience, people  are very courteous, they take turns going through the bridge even giving a wave of thanks to the next waiting motorist as they exit. Rarely do I hear beeping horns or see frustrated looks.
Every community, organization, business and family needs one-lane bridges. I think they may be healthy.

Over the past several winters I have become facinated by some particular trees that lie in the understory of the woods I drive by daily. Even in the heart of winter, these trees cling to their brittle brown leaves while all the others are nakedly gray. These leaves glow almost golden when the low-angled sunlight of winter shines through them. Though they are lifeless, in the right light they are beautiful. I did stop one day to take some photographs. This one seemed to capture what my eyes noticed. Later, after studying the photograph, I spied a bud, crouched at the base of a leaf ...a rumor of things to come.