"Inherit" | Reflection by Rich Walser

My daughter Alexandra (Ali) took this picture a couple summers back. It encapsulates so much of my life and the great inheritance of this world I received from the moment I was born - all the things of true value: the great outdoors; the setting sun; the clear blue sky; the powerful wind that was blowing that evening; the choppy water; and most importantly, time spent with family and friends, who were all equally delighted to be alive and experiencing it all.

Growing up near the ocean, I learned early to appreciate the abundance of God’s world, and to respect its power. Before my 10th birthday, my friends and I were already navigating the 7 miles across the Great South Bay to swim in the ocean off of Fire Island. But the bay provided more than just entertainment.  Not a week would pass without a meal coming from its bounty; flounder, bluefish, clams, bay scallops, crabs, and more, fresh from the boat at the fish market down the street. And of course the seafood we ate also provided good jobs for the many people that the bay employed. A perpetual inheritance of life and of love showered upon the people of that small Long Island town - provided they were wise enough to protect it. 

I’ve been lucky to be able to enjoy these precious gifts throughout my life. Nothing is more valuable or more important to protect than those gifts that are freely showered upon us by God, our natural inheritance. Those are the things of true value. It has always seemed to me that implied in any inheritance is the idea that those things that are given are ‘entrusted’ to the receiver, knowing that the person who is receiving the gift will value and take care of it. This Lent, take some time to get outside and make an assessment of all that you’ve inherited from God in the natural world; and then commit yourself to its care and perpetuation.

God Bless. 

Words in the Wilderness - Walk through the season of Lent with Trinity, one word at a time. Every day (except on Sundays) we will post a photo and a brief refection written by someone in our Trinity community. https://www.trinitynewhaven.org/words-in-the-wilderness