wind blows deeply

After 700 years of doing what he was built for, he'll discover what he was meant for.
Wall•e, Pixar

I wonder if I get it the other way around, or perhaps not at all. I tend to think I know what I was meant for [...to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, Westminster Catechism] but am I actually doing what I was built for? That is, are my aspirations the same as God's goals for me?

I went to see Wall•e yesterday. Pixar rarely disappoints. I think because they are so adept at personifying their characters. Toys, animals, monsters, cars or robots ... they all emote. So, of course, Wall•e and Eve are adorable. Spoiler? (hover) Of course, I appreciated the literary genius of naming the starship Axiom and the world corporation Buy n Large. (Yes, Pixar created a website for them.)

But what the movie truly reminded me of was "The Story of Stuff." Have a peek if you haven't seen it before.

One piece of the puzzle just isn't enough: either vision or preparation alone, without the other, won't get you anywhere. You might be fortunate to bumble along in chaos and frustration.

A few months ago, I made a side note about preparation. The story is about King Xerxes' search for a new queen, seeing as how Vashti had more than ticked him off. So now we have an episode of The Bachelor, except that the king isn't really a bachelor and none of this will be televised; although, you could likely guarantee that the gossip would have spread. The women gather at the palace and spend a whole year getting ready (beautifying) before they went to "see" Xerxes. Sure they had vision (let's get in with the King) but they also put some time into the preparation.

Greg's tagline reads: an up-and-coming, soon-to-be world famous photographer, world traveler and oddball. Today, I was reading his latest post on his journey to fulfill the "world famous photographer" bit. In the post, Greg refers to a few posts from David about the necessity of vision to balance nifty equipment.

I had to really look down deep inside and make sure it wasn’t just a desire for a newer, “better” lens. But, after some careful reflection, it was a decision based on the need to have equipment that would allow me to achieve my vision -- Greg

Vision matters because it’s the destination that determines the choice of road map. -- Dave

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
2 Kings 6:15

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ
Colossians 4:2-3a (ESV)

I'm not sure exactly how the passages fit together just yet. I assume it has something to do with waiting and Africa.

The first passage was highlighted recently by a friend. Elisha's job was to focus the king's attention on God. His servant should have fully understood this. Yet when they were surrounded by the army, the servant took his eyes off of God and started to freak out. Only after Elisha requested that his eyes be opened did the servant see the full context.

The second reminds me that any opportunity to be a part of God's work comes with our prior request in prayer. None of this is about me at all.

I took a gorgeous drive through the countryside this afternoon. People often judge the prairies, especially Saskatchewan, for being too monotonous. I fear it is due to their solitary experience of driving the TransCanada through Regina. Other than a little excitement around the Cypress Hills (and truly, one doesn't ever see the full extent of that area from the highway), the drive along this stretch of twinned asphalt can be admittedly quite dull.

Visitors never see the forests just north of Saskatoon. The enormous pristine lakes of the upper reached. The lush and winding Qu'Appelle Valley. And that's where I went today.

Highway 6 between Regina and Southey was a breath-taking series of moments. The valley was full of lush green following recent rains. Golden sunlight hit bluffs and sloughs, illuminating them against a curtain of deep grey clouds -- threatening to release their precious hold at any moment.

These very clouds, hanging so low, dared to stray mere inches above the ground. Almost as if I could reach out and take hold of these rich bundles of fleece. And once again this week, the boundary between earth and sky was nearly indistinguishable.

And home I returned; soul filled with recollections of the sheer extravagance of God's creation.

The concept:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite colour?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favourite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favourite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

(Visit flickr to view the photo credits.)

I received two reactions when people learnt that I would be travelling to Toronto: sheer excitement or mediocre well-wishes. Toronto is fine (for those who love it) but I'm a prairie girl at heart. I love to see the horizon; to know the weather before it is immediately on top of you. I move at a slower pace.

Yesterday, I took a break from some of the sessions because, let's face it, eight hours of hearing about CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, MELD/PELD, TRL4, IMPDH, Th1/Th2 and assays for ATP activity of reactive but not lytic B cells can get a bit overwhelming at times. On my break I went shopping. I went shopping at my must see stores (Zara, H&M, Sephora...) but did not buy one. single. thing. However, I was stopped one two separate occasions by tourists for general Toronto advice and directions. I suppose I blend in alright.

So what does the rest of my morning hold? First, I'm going to track down one of my drugs reps whom I can never seem to find. She wanted to look at some of my pictures from Africa. Then I have such sessions as "Defining molecular signalling", "Nonotechnology and nanomolecular materials" and "Gene silencing". I may just opt for the "Critical analysis of living donation" instead; I think my brain can handle that. Although, I may just need some more coffee -- this two hour time difference has really knocked me off my feet this weekend.

So here's a thought. Picture stereotypical stick-figure people: the male, so reserved, stoic maybe, with arms by his sides; the female, perhaps by sole nature of that so-very-A-line dress, with arms reaching out.

Here I am in TO. All rainy and grey and concrete. I rarely pack for trips earlier than the night before and last night was no exception. I may even be past exhaustion at this point. [Ugly=not enough beauty rest]

Wednesday, on leaving work later than I should have, it took me a while to figure it out. The perfect golden light of a setting sun -- and what was that? Oh yes, lilac blossoms; their pungent fragrance drifting on the early evening breeze.

This morning, pea soup fog blanketed the sleeping town. Then, just as I arrived at the airport, the sun cracked above the prairie horizon and the fog began to fade into sunrise of the softest of pinks.

Again, finding myself in Toronto, driving along the harbour, the horizon line is difficult to make out -- only just barely discernible at the intersection of slightly smoggy-yellow-grey sky and the placid blue-grey lake surface. Admittedly, this blending of earth and sky feels surreal ... but that could also be the sleep deprivation settling into my consciousness.

Nonetheless, I did dearly wish to share those moments with you.

Dear God is a global project for people around the world to share their innermost hopes - and fears - through prayer.

It doesn’t matter what your version of God is … Jesus, Allah, Buddha or simply a spiritual universal energy...

Share your prayers here and help us create hope one prayer at a time. Simply send us your personal letter to your God and/or a picture that sums up your message visually. (Dear God will source a picture if you don’t have one).

Working on a poster for an upcoming conference, I had completely forgotten about such loved folks as AFI, Wolfmother, The Red Thread and Blue October. Such joy my indie-alt playlist brought tonight.