Peace like a River: Annotative Post

"Peace like a River" by Leif Enger truly imposes the meaning of a miracle onto the reader. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word miracles as, "a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency." ("Miracle")  In class, we discussed that it becomes more than just an extreme event in the books chapters, but more of an outspoken discussion between the main characters such as in the beginning of the book when the narrator says, "The answer, it seems to me now, lies in the miracles." (McCarthy 3) Though some book may pass over the religious tenses, "Peace like a River" faces the subject head on. It is significant because in culture, we think of miracles as being a very religious subject and even when talked about among Christians, some don't want to seem too "religious" by believing in God's miracles. The threat of feeling uncomfortable in dealing with such religious matters can sometimes frighten believers because they are scared of what the world might think of them. The world's defense against not believing is to out rightly call Christians hypocrites, saying that what is being done is not true and only seeing it as a trick of the eye. It shows that among our friends and acquaintances we must trust God that he will change the cruel and unruly heart of the worldly to something that is more willing to accept the fact that God is everything to us. The fact of just accepting miracles is one of the toughest test of faith, and in it, we find the reward of knowing God better through a spiritual awakening. The whole idea behind a miracle is to see something unreal and not possible, but shouldn’t its potential be more powerful than its definition? It should speak truth and change the impossible to possible in someone’s life. This not only pertains to those of the world, but also to Christians, because in them lies the power to change the world.


"Miracle". Oxford English Dictionary Addition Series. 2012. OED Online. Oxford

      University Press. 29 March 2012

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Vintage Book, 2006. 237. Print.

"The Night Wind" by Emily Bronte: Reflective Post

     "The Night Wind" by Emily Bronte truly describes a story a both love and temptation. It talks of a woman trying to be persuaded by the night wind so that they may be together. It begins by showing how peaceful a wind in the middle of the night may be, and continues on to explain the relationship and temptation of the wind to the woman. This explains that in life, we may have temptations that are either not worth the effort to fulfill or, knowing right from wrong, realizing that the temptation may not be the best decision in that particular time of our lives. In the world we live in today, society shows that we must give into temptation and most of the time, things that may be evil or wrongful in the sight of God.
     Personally, I believe as though this poem is paralleled with that of the story in the Bible which speaks of the Serpent's temptation to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. How quickly temptation grabs our attention in order for us to become to infatuated with the idea that we begin to give in. The woman in the poem defines the boundaries that her and the wind should have leading to her not giving in and telling the wind to leave her alone and go for someone else who would be more willing and susceptible. We have also known temptation from birth, just as the wind tells the woman, "Were we not friends from childhood? Have I not loved thee long?", making it no harder to give up the sin that lies within us all.
     Ultimately, we must decide our fate and deal with the consequences when and if we go along with temptation. The greatest weapon against that is God and through trial and temptation we can know that he will be there for us, but how far must we be tempted in order for us to put our worries on God? We as Christians sometimes forget that we can call upon God since we are so focused upon ourselves thinking that we can handle situations on our own. Only God can give us the strength we need, and only can we make the decision to call on him when the time arrives.