Musings on the word Distance
Last week I did not post here because I was out in the middle of ocean on a cruise.
We were quite a distance from land most of the time. My mother, her good friend, and my sister and her husband were also with us. It gave us more than just a few hours to be together. While we all live a short distance apart we do not spend that much time together. For my mother, who is a sharp eighty five, walking around the ship was quite a distance.
I began to ponder the word distance. Distant relationship…Distant learning…Distant loved ones…Distant hearts…Distant from God
And then of course Bette Midler’s popular song ‘From a Distance’ came to mind. I have been a long time fan of her so I knew this song well. I posted the lyrics on my scripture blog this week too.
Distance…the amount of space between two things or people…the fact or condition of being apart…remoteness…there are some fifteen meanings for this word…mostly related to mathematics…reading down the list I stop at number ten…
A withholding of intimacy; alienation; coldness; disagreement; variance; restraint; reserve.
Here are my musings as they randomly came to me so please do not try to make any real sense from their order. One thing I am sure of is that even in death ‘distance’ is of little consequence; if there remains the one constant…LOVE.
Long distance learning…
Long distance love affairs….
Long distance phone calls…
Better to watch some things from a distance…
Shortest distance between 2 points…a straight line…
Working from a distance…
From a distance the planet Earth looks like a giant marble…
New Galaxies have been discovered in the distance…
In the distance the city skyline can be seen above the horizon…
In the distance the city lights form patterns in the darkness as observed from high above in the air…
In the distance lightning streaks across the stormy sky…
From a distance the moon appears to hang in the trees tops…
From a distance history becomes the ‘good ole days’…
From a distance things seem smaller…
From a distance a jet is but a speck in the blue sky…
From a distance a cruise ship is but a child’s toy in the immense ocean…
The Wise Men followed the distant star to Bethlehem…
From a distance the ringing of the country church bells roll over the grassy hillside…
One can suffer from a numb distant heart…
The lonely often have a distant stare in their eyes…
On several occasions Jesus healed from a distance…
Only we can distance ourselves from God…
Distance never separates two hearts that really love…not even death…
The distant dance of sun and rain reflects the colors of the rainbow…
From a distance God can open our eyes, ears, and hearts…
Faith is often the catalyst for healing from a distance by Jesus…
Some people live their entire lives at a distance from everyone else.
Jesus transcended our entire concept of distance when he came down from heaven to live among us. From a distance God has every hair on our head counted. From a distance he watches over us. From a distance he is present.
From a distance he fills us with a desire to be in his presence.
I have come to believe that the word distance is not part of God’s vocabulary.
Only we humans experience this concept of Distance.
Distance exists in all directions around us…God alone fills the space.
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Comments on: "From a Distance" (1)
Thank you for this, Sharon. It gave me much to think about. Makes me wonder what other words aren’t in God’s vocabulary…
Love,
Chris