An Easter Reflection

Easter is more than just eggs, bunnies, chicks and eating copious amounts of chocolate. Easter is a time for reflection and celebration.

Over the past few days many people around the world, regardless of their religious beliefs, have been enjoying some time away from the daily grind of the 9 to 5 and the weekly monotony of work and home.

They’ve taken advantage of the Easter Holidays (a time associated with the Christian theme’s of ‘Reflection and Celebration’) and spent time either on an extended holiday weekend away from home with family and friends, or stayed at home and completed a number of tasks around the house.

For Annette & I we have spent time in the later – for the first time in a number of years we have not had to arrange and facilitate Easter Services, or be involved in transporting young people around New Zealand to attend Easter Camps.

This has allowed us each to spend some time in our own ways reflecting on these Easter themes, centred around the story of Jesus at the Cross, in the Tomb and His subsequent resurrection.

Now one way in which I like to unwind is to do puzzles – and over the spate of a couple of days I completed this one that I’ve borrowed.

Currently there are 4 puzzles in the initial series which have been created by friends of ours down in Invercargill, and you can purchase one of their inspirational 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from their online site J3:16 Gifts.

The puzzle I completed is an image of the Church of the Good Shepherd which is situated on the shores of Lake Takapō amongst the natural beauty of the lake and the mountains of the Mackenzie Country. You can read more about the church here.

This lakefront church is still operational today, holding weekly services and special events, and is a world renowned attraction with visitors from all over the world coming to spend some time in quiet reflection, taking in the sights of the natural beauty of the area.

The above panoramic photo was taken further around the lake when Annette & I had the pleasure of visiting a few years ago and we took plenty of obligatory photos of our time there with our three children.

This weekend I have been returning to the Scripture that features on the puzzle; “Pour out you hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8b (New International Version)

As has been the case for the past few years or so I tend to sit in a particular verse for a day or two, before expanding further by reading the full Psalm.

Taking into account the author, theme and context etc. I’ll then compare different translations of the verse, before also checking out Psalms/Now, which sort of provides a bit of a contemporary view of the Psalm and a slightly different slant.

The Voice translation puts the full verse (Psalm 62:8) this way; “Have faith in Him in all circumstances, dear people.
    Open up your heart to Him;
    the True God shelters us in His arms.”

What a timely reminder with everything that is going on around us in these times of war, pandemics, fuel and food shortages and crises of varying degrees all around the world – That we need to trust in Him.

This sentiment is repeated throughout the Old Testament and Proverbs 3:5-6 says that we are to “trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways submit to him, and he will make our paths straight.” (New International Version) 

In all circumstances open up your hearts to Him.

I’d imagine that for those that followed Jesus in the days that followed the tragedy of the Cross they were confused, wondering what on earth had just happened and were filled with many doubts, concerns and fears. Their worlds had literally been turned upside down.

And in this time of mourning the women who had been to the tomb returned advising the disciples that He had risen and that they were to go to Galilee. More doubts, concerns and fears.

“The eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had said they would find him. There they met him and worshiped him – but some of them weren’t sure it really was Jesus!” Matthew 28:16-17 (The Living Bible)

Some still had doubts, concerns and fears – even though they had seen with their own eyes.

How about you? When we see the glory of His creation, when we see the signs of God at work in the world and wonder at things that happen which we cannot fully understand. Do we acknowledge Him? Or do we just fob it off as coincidence or chance?

In all circumstances we are to open up your hearts to Him and trust Him.

Throughout my life there have been times when I don’t know what, why or even how things have turned out the way that they have – and yet I trust in God for He is my refuge. He is my shield, my protector and so much more.

Do I have doubts, concerns and fears – of course! I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t, but I still believe. Do I understand why God allows certain stuff to happen? No! Do I understand the fullness of what happened at the Cross? Not really, as each year at this time of year something new is illuminated.

And yet in these times of reflection and celebration my heart waits on God. For I know that my salvation comes from Him. I may change my views about many things in my life as I grow older and wiser supposedly 🙂 But as for my need for God and His love, that is one conviction that shall never change. 

Therefore, I encourage each of you in all circumstances to open up your hearts to Him and trust Him and His love.

You see, His love cannot be logically defined, but it can be experienced. Commit your life to Him, and you shall discover an anchor that will hold firm despite the chaos of this existence or the prattle of godless intellectuals. (Psalms/Now – Psalm 62)

For God is our refuge and He shelters us in His arms. And His invitation is to one and all, for there are no outsiders to His love.

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The day after…

Wednesday morning, the day after, saw us packing up the car and heading further south to Twizel, before doubling back and heading home via the Inland Scenic Route.

Just prior to leaving Lake Tekapo we spent a bit of time on the foreshore enjoying the stunning views the lake offers, Patrick took a large number of photo’s as did I of the panoramic view. According to Lake Tekapo’s official information site Lake Tekapo is “Nature’s Jewel”. 

The above photo was taken just before we left; the sun was shining down making the surface of the lake a beautiful turquoise blue which is made possible by the fact that;

‘The majority of water flowing into the headwaters of Lake Tekapo comes from large river systems that extend right back into the valleys of the Southern Alps. Feeding these rivers are large glaciers and the ice from these glaciers collects in valleys and pushes its way down the valley, ripping loose rock from the valley walls and trapping it in the moving ice.
Any rock trapped against the sides of the ice flow is ground, with huge force, along the solid rock of the valley floor and walls and such is the force, that the grinding action of rock against rock results in a powder as fine as flour. It is often referred to as glacial flour and this fine flour is then carried with the ice down the valley until the warmth of the lower altitude reduces the ice to water.
In the case of Lake Tekapo, the glacial flour continues its journey in the river waters of the Godley, Cass and Macaulay rivers until it flows into the lake where the majority of the flour remains suspended within the water. This results in the turquoise colour.’

No sooner had we left Lake Tekapo and gone over the ridge we encountered low-lying cloud which contained some precipitation and headed down to Twizel on the way stopping at the picturesque Lake Pukaki which is the largest of the three alpine lakes along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin and is part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme. We then headed on towards the township of Twizel where the weather started to clear revealing a beautiful summers afternoon.

Twizel was originally built in 1968 as the base for one of the most impressive hydro-electric power schemes in the Southern Hemisphere. The town was to be bulldozed once the construction scheme was finished, however, the population began a campaign to retain Twizel. The Government offered the town to the Mackenzie Country Council, complete with many houses, sections, and all facilities, such as the shopping centre, community complex, medical centre, church, fire station, sports field, heated swimming pool, service station, etc. Twizel has continued its service role to the surrounding areas as well as expanding its tourist role as the nearest township to Mount Cook, the highest peak in Oceania.

In around Twizel filming of the Lord of the Rings took place and a daily tour takes you to some of the iconic spots; also it is said that some parts of The Hobbit are currently being filmed here. Talk is also rife that parts of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys & Xena: Warrior Princess were also filmed at secret locations in and around the Mackenzie basin. However, that may only be hearsay due to the fact there is a sizable collection of outfits and paraphernalia available at an Antiques shop in Omarama.

We then headed past the scenic lakes of Benmore & Aviemore before having a late lunch in Waimate. About 3o’clock we headed north through Timaru and Temuka before joining the Inland Scenic Route at Geraldine. And although the weather had closed in again by this stage we caught glimpses of the beauty of the rolling farmlands overlooked by the ranges in the distance.

The Rakaia Gorge and the Waimakariri Gorge were both gorgeous however, as Annette said as we passed through the latter we’ve been spoilt with living on the West Coast for three years as the pale in comparison with the magnificence and beauty of the Buller Gorge.

All in all we have had a delightful couple of days away taking in some of the sights and just relaxing but as always it wasn’t long enough and I’m sure that we will be heading back to Lake Tekapo for a few more days in the future…

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Heading to Lake Tekapo…

Tuesday morning saw us heading off down south to Lake Tekapo for a couple of days away from Christchurch. For some reason Emily seemed to have a problem differentiating from Taupo & Tekapo as all along the journey she seemed fixated on the fact that we were heading to Taupo which would have taken considerably more time than it did to get to Lake Tekapo. And would have also meant a trip north instead of south and a trip overseas on the Inter Islander unless of course that is if we’d gone by plane…

Any how we stopped off at picturesque Geraldine on the way and enjoyed a packed lunch beside the war memorial opposite the library. Then we had a wander around town – stopping off for a visit to a quilting shop and also at the Barker’s shop which has a delectable array of cordials, preserves and yoghurt fillers which are made in their factory just down the road. At the shop in Geraldine you’re able to get a much larger assortment of products than what you get at the supermarkets, including a chocolate dessert sauce… You can even shop online and they will deliver it to your door. 

Upon arriving at Lake Tekapo we went for a drive to see the other lakes in the immediate area (Lake McGregor & Lake Alexandrina) which were all absolutely stunning. We also went for a quick sightseeing trip up to the Mt John Earth & Sky Observatory to get some spectacular panoramic views of the Mackenzie Basin, before having dinner at Reflections Restaurant which was delicious.

We then headed for a relaxing dip in the pools at Alpine Springs which offers three adjoining main Hot Pools landscaped in local greywacke rock and surrounded by the regions native alpine plants to create a natural setting.

Each pool takes the shape of one of the regions lakes, giving them a natural feel and have been strategically placed on site to take best advantage of the wonderful views looking out over Lake Tekapo and the Two Thumb mountain range. The pool temperatures range from forty degrees Celsius to thirty six degrees Celsius and they have benched seating around the edges so you can sit back, relax and soak. We stayed here long enough to see the first stars appear in the night sky…

The region is renowned for the clarity of its sky and freedom from light pollution, which is why tens of thousands of people flock here annually to see the southern stars and transient phenomena such as aurorae, meteor showers and the zodiacal light in all their pristine glory as can be seen by the photo below which was taken by Grant Bisset, near the Mt John Observatory in Lake Tekapo on April 6, 2010.

I must say that the weather was absolutely stunning which only compliments the scenery even more…

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