Kin to Ned

A vet and patient

A week ago Ned talked to the Men’s Fellowship about the Water Molecule that interconnects all life. It turned out to be a life story.  Life began for Ned as a simple Mennonite farm boy.  He was privileged to graduate from Purdue University with a  Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He served a term as a conscientious objector in the Congo and traveled solo around the world before beginning his career as a vet in a small animal clinic in Goshen. In retirement he helps care for the street trees in Goshen.

Ned calls himself an evolving  eclectic.  That is, he makes careful choices from a variety of sources.  Secondly, he calls himself an animist who is aware of the spirit in each tree and stone, in every dog and cat. Ned also builds his evolving, eclectic animistic self on Mennonite roots. Finally, Ned has found himself to be mystic. To him life is synergistic and full of synchronicities i.e., where in the universe did that come from. There is a mystical working together that can’t be explained, only accepted and enjoyed.  As Ned explained himself I felt kin to him and, recalled some events in the past that I can’t explain.

Rhoda and I made many trips between Florida and Pennsylvania.  We often began the trip at the end of a day and traveled straight through the night and arrived in Pennsylvania on the next day. Traveling at night let our children sleep while Rhoda and I shared driving responsibilities in two hour shifts.

It was a lake like this

One morning we in the foothills of north Georgia or South Carolina. Rhoda was the driver and I awoke thinking about the foreknowledge of God as described in the NT book of Ephesians.  We were all wide awake and hungry.  I told the family that in the beginning, before the earth was created, God knew we would be traveling and hungry, and he had provided a place for us to picnic and stretch our cramped muscles. At that moment Rhoda braked to stop beside a pickup truck parked at a service station.  She explained that we had been traveling all night and needed a picnic table.  “Follow me” the man said.  She did. He led us to a small lake with a picnic table. “I own this lake and table,” he said.  “Be my guests.”

A collie dog greeted us.  Soon Conrad was in the water.  The owner brought a large watermelon to add to our picnic.  We could not have asked for anything more or better.  Was this event providential or wonderfully synchronistic as everything worked together for our good

synchronisticaly
speaking  things work together
for the good sometimes.