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By Marcia Lee Laycock
 I leaned over my friend's shoulder as he crouched on the riverbank. Clear water swirled over the dirt and gravel and spilled over the edge of the large pan in his hands. Slowly the larger stones washed away, leaving only fine black sand. He moved the pan gently, then stopped. "There," he said, holding it up for me to look. "See it?"I peered at the spot where he pointed. Tiny slivers glinted in the sun. "That's it?"
My friend nodded. "Enough colour to keep us going."
Those tiny flecks of gold found on the creek that day resulted in a major excavation of that area. A crew of men and machinery descended and the hunt for more gold was on. Similar scenes have been played out in the gold fields of the Yukon for over a hundred years. A small sliver gleaming in a pan was all it took for men to move mountains, dam rivers and create feats of engineering to equal the Panama Canal. All it took was a tiny bit of "colour."
In his book, 'The Only Necessary Thing,' Henri Nouwen writes, "The spiritual life is a long and often arduous search for what you have already found...The desire for God's unconditional love is the fruit of having been touched by that love." (p.29)
When you find a sliver of love, you seek more of it. When you find a sliver of truth you tune your ear for more. When you find a sliver of God, your whole being longs for more of Him. That longing in our hearts is not unlike sitting down to a good meal at a good restaurant. The plates put before us steam with delicious aromas. We take the utensils in hand and take the first bite. Then another and another, until the food is consumed. Momentarily satisfied, we begin planning a return trip to the same place. We have tasted and it was good. Our natural instinct is to want more.
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God has put his colour all around us - signs that He is here. His aroma surrounds us - it rises from the words of His Word and His people. There is only one catch. The miners in the Yukon had to find that first sliver of gold by testing the ground. Sitting in a restaurant surrounded by good smells won't convince you that the food is delicious. You have to take the first bite.
In Psalm 34:8 David says - "Taste and see that the Lord is good ..."He did, and found more love and forgiveness than he had a right to. You will too. Go ahead. You've seen the colour in the creation around you. Now start digging - open your eyes and see. You've smelled the aroma of wisdom in God's Word and His people. Now take a bite - read the Bible often and associate with His people. What you will find is far more precious than gold, far more satisfying than any gourmet meal. It will be the beginning of an adventure far more exciting than any gold rush, far more satisfying than a visit to the most expensive restaurant in the world.
Marcia Lee Laycock is a popular speaker, a prolific free-lance writer and author of poetry, short stories and award--winning books. She is best known to Central Alberta readers for her column in,'The Spur', which ran in local newspapers for over fifteen years and still appears both locally and provincially. Her first book, 'The Spur of the Moment', received the Award of Merit at the God Uses Ink conference in Guelph Ontario in 2003. Her second book, 'Focused Reflections', has been endorsed by notable Christian authors, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's writing has also been broadcast on CBC Radio.
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August 14/2008
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