Walking on Water

I'm currently reading Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle. If you take a look at the description, it might surprise you that this text would be of interest to me. I don't read much, and when I do I am more likely to read fantasies such as The Chronicles of Narnia, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, or The Wilderking Trilogy (those, often to my children). I also spend some time reading political/economic works like The Revolution: A Manifesto or The Law (see my other blog). I'm even known to pick up a computer programming book now and then. I usually like books which are either fiction or fact, black or white. But this book--written by an artist who is a Christian for other artists who are Christian (if you think it awkward that I didn't just say "Christian artists", then read the book)--is more ethereal than the norm for me.

I was primed to consider this type of book by my friend and pastor, and I was directed specifically to this particular book by a post in The Rabbit Room. I'll not give a full report on the book, but here is a small excerpt that I was affected by tonight. I hope you enjoy it as well.

There's a story of a small village where lived an old clockmaker and repairer. When anything was wrong with any of the clocks or watches in the village, he was able to fix them, to get them working properly again.

When he died, leaving no children and no apprentice, there was no one left in the village who could fix clocks. Soon various clocks and watches began to break down. Those which continued to run often lost or gained time, so they were of little use. A clock might strike midnight at three in the afternoon. So, many of the villagers abandoned their timepieces.

One day, a renowned clockmaker and repairer came through the village, and the people crowded around him and begged him to fix their broken clocks and watches. He spent many hours looking at all the faulty timepieces, and at last announced that he could repair only those whose owners had kept them wound, because they were the only ones which would be able to remember how to keep time.

So, we must daily keep things wound: that is, we must pray when prayer seems dry as dust, when we are physically tired, when our hearts are heavy, when our bodies are in pain.

We may not always be able to make our "clock" run correctly, but at least we can keep it wound so that is will not forget.