I’LL BE DOGGED!

In the west African nation of Mali there is a natural hill formation that features at one spot a contour of the letter U. For many hundreds of years this site has been the center of the most important religious ceremony in the life of the people of Mali. Once every 60 years the movement of the earth brings Sirius to the center of this formation. This is the occasion of the ceremony suigi. This event is based on a belief that 3000 years ago celestial beings visited Mali form Sirius. Most of the people of Mali see the appearance of Sirius in this formation only once in their lifetime.

Sirius of course is the Dog Star. The months of July and August are commonly called Dog Days. July and August supposedly got that name from the fact that dogs, suffering from heat, become listless and run out of energy. Sounds like me. I don’t have any idea whether celestial beings from Sirius visited Mali or not, but I’ll tell you something. The messages the Mali people think they received when Sirius appears in the sky during sigui isn’t far from other visitations that brought wise men and magi to a new understanding of how God works in human affairs. I do something as often as I can remember to do it. Early in the morning while it is still dark, I look at Sirius and I receive messages about so many things it boggles my mind. The people of Mali are superstitious, dependent on myths, on signs? Yes and so am I. It’s amazing what messages I receive about life and death, love and laughter, hope and healing, just by looking at the Dog Star, especially in these Dog Days.

The Frontier of our Spirit: Deciding to Go On

Not so many miles north of where I live here in Central Nebraska there is the little village of Bartlett. Bartlett was established as a pioneer town out on the Nebraska prairie frontier, not so different now, I suspect, from the frontier days in which the town was established. I have an old record book which tells me that in the 1890's a small group of people were trying hard to keep a Sunday School open there in spite of hard winters and few people scattered all across the prairie. As the fall weather began to turn to winter on the plains in 1892 the people holding the little Sunday School open decided to hold a meeting in which people could vote as to whether or not to keep the Sunday School alive. In the afternoon of Sunday, October 25, 1891, that group of 39 persons gathered to make their decision. I would imagine there were pros and cons, differences of opinion, maybe a divided sentiment. When the vote was finally called for the records say this: "It was decided by vote for the Sunday School to go on."

It would be a great thing if all our 'goings on' could be decided by a support group of family, friends and even neighbors. Sometimes it can. But not always. Sometimes we face our "going on" alone after a divorce, after the death of a loved one, after a mistake or crisis or a failure. Friends and family can often affirm a decision we make but sometimes we are the only ones who can make that decision. It is then our faith takes hold, our confidence in ourselves is renewed and we become aware that "Nighttime is only the other side of daytime."

Sometime when you're driving through the scenic wonderland of north central Nebraska, you'll come to the little frontier town of Bartlett. What you'll see, in addition to other mind-boggling mysteries and magic, is a little church where 119 years ago a pioneer group of 39 souls 'decided to go on." Just like you and I can every day, out on the frontier of our spirits.