Nathan E. Lewis

Today, as I was driving from the Evergreen Church site in Beaverton to my home, I crossed through Fanno Creek Park on Denney Road. A small flock of geese rose from the water, circling over the road, and then headed south. I enjoy listening to the honking geese fly south. Today, my vision was stimulated. These geese were pure white! Nearly every goose I spot in our community is a Canada goose. The markings of a Canada goose are more interesting to me than a pure white goose. But a Canada goose is so common. In fourteen years of living in the Portland metro, I have never spotted a gaggle of pure white geese migrating.
Several hours later on this same day, I was sitting on my back deck in the bright sunshine trying to soak in some heat unsuccessfully. I heard the honking of geese and then I saw as many as 70 to 100 Canada geese fly overhead. My enjoyment was diminished. In the past I would have set aside my reading, but not my pipe, and I would close my eyes and listen to the honking of the geese. But earlier in the day, I had spotted this gaggle of pure white geese and its rarity had attracted my interest and joy.

I am not so excited about immediately jumping to some spiritual correlation. But my thoughts today have considered my tendency in all of my personal enjoyment of life to take for granted the common and to gravitate to the rarity. After all a goose is a goose no matter how small. All geese make a mine field out of a park’s lawn.
On the other hand, the rarest of all prizes in this life is Christ Jesus, the pearl of great price. Of him many of us have sung, “Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts/ Thou fount of life, the light of men/ From the best bliss that earth imparts/ We turn unfilled to thee again.” May I never tire of a vision of Jesus, considering him to be common. “He is the fairest of 10,000 to my soul.”