For reference, the math references you’ll see from time to time are consequences of my being a mathematician. The cross country team referenced is from the high school where I teach (I taught college, then went to high school…where I teach Dual Credit to high school students for college credits ♻️). Teaching was due to a calling from God, but I still do research in mathematics, and now there’s the too-long explanation as to why math pops up in some of these posts. I will say, though: when you’re doing mathematics research, you have to discover something, and those experiences of chasing some answer out of the ether have given me an even deeper appreciation of mystery and wonder. I personally take comfort in the fact that the omniscience of God is more vast than I can fathom, so when I question something that’s happened—you know, question God—I find some solace in the fact that there are things I don’t know and that I’m likely wrong about some of the conclusion I’ve drawn. Trust and surrender are things we sing in hymns all the time, but the application of such is a different brand of ferret, as I say to my high school students (hey, I have to keep their attention somehow because not everyone things Calculus is fun at 8 a.m.).

Anyway, the main event: here’s the post from June 15, 2023.

“👟 RSD 1143 ✅ via 3 Mile Thursday (2 miles for me lol) with the cross country team. Today’s Verse: “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’”—Isaiah 41:13

I always take a post-run watch pic and sometimes a selfie. I took both today, but I caught this pic of a blue jay taking off in flight after I returned from today’s run (and the workout class I attended thereafter—hey, it’s summer ☀️). I figured, “How often do I get to 1) see a beautifully vibrant bird long enough to actually get a photo and 2) have said photo demonstrate such action?” Live Photo, y’all—10/10 would recommend. So, I figured I’d use the photo to accompany today’s verse (which I had chosen earlier today).

According to Google, blue jays symbolize a host of things like devotion, wonder, keen-mindedness, and protection. I’ve seen quite a lot of symbolism with the blue jay, but intelligence, strength, confidence, and communication (honesty), and “encouragement for the future,” as one site put it, seem to appear on most lists. If you look at allllll of these words, you’ll see a theme, and I really think the “keen-mindedness” does the trick—although, I think wonder and devotion encompass a lot as well. From Britannica (oldie but goodie), keen-mindedness is “having or showing an ability to think clearly and to understand what is not obvious or simple about something.”

Understanding the not obvious is where the prophet Isaiah (the guy who wrote the book the verse is in) has his expertise. But, the funny thing about expertise is that real experts often don’t claim to be so. They fall into this Mobiüs strip of thinking in that the more you learn, the more you figure out you don’t know (or that is unknown to anyone). Annoying, isn’t it? When I research math, I find myself in a MUCH simpler version of that infinite loop (and I know you all do as well in whatever you’re searching for…we all do in learning our faith), and, yes, it is annoying…just when you think you’ve got it figured out: there’s more…much more. But, what’s really annoying about it is that it’s totally necessary. If you could just know everything, what would you even do with that information, and where would the excitement be—the creativity, the reach…the wonder? Wonder…not knowing and not even knowing what we don’t know…but VERY open and interested to find out. Wonder helps us learn about the world around us but also helps us learn about ourselves. We’re kind of strangers, you know, even to ourselves sometimes. Just like you’re always finding out something new about those you love, you’re also constantly doing that with you. Probably the most comforting thing about being human is also one of the things that can sometimes frustrate us: we don’t know everything, and there’s no way of figuring it all out. When you think about it like that, it does take some pressure off (you know, when we’re trying to predict (rather control) our future…as if we can), but it can also be a little scary. What am I supposed to do now?

Well, our resident expert Isaiah sought the answers (and even the questions too) through seeking God. See, God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and, the part we probably don’t spend enough time on: omnibenevolent. More lists, I know…and they all begin with “omni.” I looked it up: it’s a Latin prefix meaning “all” or “all things.” Basically, God can do anything at any time and has all the wisdom. Humans—mmm, not so much. And, in addition to all the knowing and being and doing, He is all good and wants all good—that’s where the “omnibenevolent” comes in 😉. So, today’s verse is God peeling back another fact of the universe to Isaiah. You see, God knows we get frustrated and we get scared, so He offered this one to us: “Don’t be scared. You don’t know a lot and have great deal to learn, but it’s going to be ok. I’ve got you, and I’ll help you find the way forward.””