Thank you, Sir Isaac Newton

I think it is good to go back and read things that we've (I've) written in the past. And while the following was in the recent past, and even seems to me a little strange and confusing, it still stirs up new thoughts. Dear reader: pardon it's occasional gaps in reasoning. Forgive me and my mind of it's greater ability to intake information rather than more effectively sorting what is already there.

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I was sitting at a stoplight returning from my short daily adventure that most of us call a lunch break. To my left was a marquee with a long list of 12 films enjoying their few weeks in the spotlight before something with better graphics, or an even more dramatic love story comes along to take it’s place. To my right there was a family of four enjoying the afternoon California sun and the rare chilly breeze that comes once in a blue moon here in Orange County. The young girl caught my eye. She walked further ahead than her father, mother, and brother and couldn’t have been older than 7. She was wearing a cream colored long-sleeved t-shirt underneath a furry vest and tights. Over the tights was a floral print skirt that seemed to enjoy the wind more than the brown curls that framed her young face.

I must have sat through two lights because it seemed as if I had all the time in the world to consider this little girl. She seemed to be mesmerized by the way that her skirt bounced off of her knee with every step she took. She began to exaggerate each step just to see what the skirt would do. I imagine her posing a question that you’d find in a modern children’s book that attempts to teach a child the basics of physics when a sweet young girl, such as my new little friend, asks why her skirt seems to react to the force of her little knee.

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion explains that with every action, an equal and opposite reaction is sure to follow. Understanding this principle we can assume that without action, there can be no reaction for the initial action must always occur first.

It seems strange to me, being the non-science/mathematical brain that I am, that I would use a chief principle of physics and groundbreaking science in the 17th century to describe the state of life that I am in currently, and more likely this life as a whole. Thank you Isaac Newton for pointing out to us that with every action, a reaction is inevitable.

I went for a drive last night. It seemed much darker than normal in the ever-busy and crowded area where I live; there wasn’t a single set of headlights in my rear view mirror and all I saw was the night sky up ahead. After arriving at my destination I put my car in park, zipped up my coat and headed out in the misty darkness. As I stood looking out over the thousands and thousands of little lights off in the distance, I could not help but consider my small stature atop this large hill.

I considered the long harbored issues and bitter reactions within families. I heard the complaints of a young woman who resigned herself to mediocrity and unhappiness. I saw the tears rolling off of a mature cheek of one experiencing the grief of losing a loved one after the line was drawn. I felt my own fear of inadequacy – in a career, in my studies, and most evidently in relationships. There is something about having a mind full of thoughts that seems to send the reactions of my senses in the other direction. I must have been cold, and yet I felt nothing. I thought of the sonogram that I wake up to every morning that tells in me in 6 ½ months I will be an Aunt and another life will breathe it’s first breath.

Newton meant what he said about every action is followed by a reaction. I’ve seen it – in the good as much as in the bad. Perhaps it is the previously explained experiences and many others that have taught me to hold my tongue in most situations. I think the real issue is when to say what must be said, understanding that the reactions may not always grant me the result that I had hoped for.

As with most of my trains of thought, I end up back where it began - to that little girl on the sidewalk testing the reaction of her little skirt. Oh I wished that was the only thing that consumed my momentary thought! From that childish wish my mind could only resonate with one thing: I must hold fast to the promise that all created things will sing praises unto the God and Creator of all. I will trust that my prayers are heard and answered by the One who holds every inch of my small life in the palm of His hand. He has my best interest at heart and can ultimately do no more than He already has - given the life of His son so that the flawless Love of God would bridge the great chasm between man and Himself. My realization of the imperfect love in relationships, and my own inadequacies only point to a longing for eternity in the presence of God, and the hope of the continued transformation until the day that He returns.