There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day. – Psalm 46:4-5

At the risk of too many posts featuring The Tar River, here is one for today because – even though I pretty much understand the variables at play – I have to admit that this morning… just a little… the river unnerved me.

To walk across the bridge in the beautiful cool morning breeze, under blue skies with the promise of a gorgeous day ahead, and yet be conscious that the water is still rising.

In particular because this time last month (as you can see in these two “side-by-side” images) things were looking exceptionally dry:

So I grabbed a few more photographs along with three short videos that convey the beauty and the power of this unique watercourse.

The feeling I had was maybe more one of respect than trepidation. It brings to mind a moment I will never forget, when Rebekah and I stood on the observation platform outside the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Washington, looking out over the still raw looking crater, the missing side of Mt. St. Helens.

As we were watching, the dome that is growing inside the crater hiccuped, and a plume of smoke shot out. We both shuddered involuntarily, and we experienced a visceral sense of the raw power of nature.

It was then that I noticed a quote etched into a plate on a nearby wall. Here it is to the best of my recollection: “Civilization exists at the consent of geology, subject to change without notice.”

That it. It’s the same sensation I felt on the bridge this morning.

Equally apparent in that moment, and as clear to me today as it was when we were looking into the crater on the side of Mt. St. Helens, is the understanding that God is still in the creation business.

And this of course, this creative impulse that rebuilds mountains and carves out Grand Canyons and fills mighty rivers, is the same power that speaks into my life and gives me new life every single day.

That is some more power; that is some more privilege! – DEREK