The Valley: My Quest for the Ultimate Reality

By Henry Martens

St. Augustine said long ago, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” In a world that is becoming increasingly noisy and confusing, this rest has become more and more difficult to find.
Henry Martens shares his personal quest for the ultimate reality, which could just as well be referred to as the ultimate reality's quest for him. His secret to finding this reality is to become quiet and let God find him. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Henry recounts his joy and discoveries along the way in the natural world that God has created. The book also contains questions for personal meditation or group discussion to help readers in their own quests.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Word Alive Press
• Release date: Jun 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781486616831

Book preview

THE VALLEY

Copyright © 2018 by Henry Martens

Front cover: Sunrise over the Pembina Valley. Photo by Henry Martens.

Back cover: Photo credit: Manitoba Parks.

All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Scripture are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Illustrations by Raymond Klassen.

EPUB Version: 978-1-4866-1683-1

Word Alive Press

119 De Baets Street, Winnipeg, MB R2J 3R9

www.wordalivepress.ca

Cataloguing in Publication may be obtained through Library and Archives Canada

To my wife, Elma, and our three adventurous children, CheAnne, Paul,

and Monique, I dedicate this book with much love and admiration.

Contents

Introduction

1. Growing Pains

2. Sasaginnigak Lake

3. Elma

4. Brochet

5. Back to the Valley

6. Interpretive Stations

7. Keys to the Ultimate Reality

8. Communing with the Ultimate Reality

9. The Reality Is…

10. Ten Observations

11. My View from the Top

12. Questions for Reflection and Group Discussions

13. Values Clarification Activities

Introduction

I’m certainly not the first person to pursue a quest for the ultimate reality. Many of these quests have resulted in the formation of various personal philosophies, world views, and religions. These are not the subject of my discussion here.

My personal quest for the ultimate reality is, and has always been, based on the premise that a spiritual reality exists that is beyond and superior to our earthly physical reality. It’s my personal conviction that this reality is our Creator God.

A spiritual quest, like a scientific search, must have some kind of direction, guidelines, or stated objectives if it is to produce some meaningful outcomes. It should not be carried out in a vacuum, devoid of limitations and parameters.

In my quest for the ultimate reality, the Bible together with my personal experiences and revelations in creation have led me to a clearer understanding of God, his creation, and my place in it. My hope and prayer are that this will also be the case for you in your quest.

chapter one

Growing Pains

A long time ago, when I was quite young, I was born. That is to say, I had been in the making for a while, but that was when I received my first breath. Forgive me if I don’t have all the details correct, but the way I imagine it, the doctor grabbed my legs, hung me upside down, and slapped my behind, and with a loud cry I announced my entrance into the reality of this world.

I have often marvelled at how it could be that at one time I was not, but now I am and forever shall be.

As time went by, I found myself in the middle of a fairly large family, with two sisters and three brothers older than me and two sisters and three brothers younger than me. Including my parents we were a baker’s dozen, with Mother being the baker, as she baked almost every other day. Life was good!

It was midwinter on the Canadian prairies, and the bright sunshine was radiating a comforting heat through the south-facing window of our small bedroom. This helped warm my heart as I sat back to review the two small pictures I had previously painted. They were obviously not to become famous masterpieces, but nonetheless I was well pleased with them.

Each picture featured a white-tailed deer, one of my favourite wild animals. The two deer were facing each other, each standing on a rock, separated by a steep ravine, with a lake in the distance. The opposite shoreline on both pictures was marked by a line of forest and rocks that seemed to connect the two when they were placed side by side.

The inspiration for my pictures had come from my love of nature, which I had inherited from both of my parents. I had been encouraged by the quality of the pictures to respond to an art talent test sponsored by a particular art school. I passed their qualifying test, and a representative from their school came to see the pictures. He told me that I had talent worth pursuing. I was doubtful about both the school and my artistic talent; after all, the pictures were painted on two paper lids of old shoeboxes, and the paints I used were leftovers from a paint-by-number set and some old house paint. Yet there was something mystical about the pictures that I found perplexing.

To arouse myself from my stupor, I diverted my attention to the scene outside the window. The blizzard of the last few days was over. Dazzling sunshine reflecting off the white blanket of snow blinded my eyes, yet I felt it calling me to come out, not only outside of the house but outside of myself.

At times like those I would go for long walks by myself, as I then decided to do. I loved the open spaces of the prairies but often longed for something more exciting, perhaps more trees, lakes, and even mountains and valleys.

For this outing I decided to take my older brother Ed’s rifle, more as a companion than anything else. It wasn’t long before I reached an area where the wind and blowing snow had created an elaborately intricate series of snowdrifts. I was amazed at how something so common could be so beautifully and artistically designed. They reminded me of what real mountains and valleys might look like.

Suddenly a large jackrabbit exploded out of a nearby snowdrift. Impulsively, without time to think, I aimed the rifle at the bounding rabbit and pulled the trigger several times. Surprisingly, I hit it! It was obviously only wounded, and I had used my last bullet. Inside of me a voice was crying, What have I done? What am I to do now?

In my state of panic, I violently clubbed the unfortunate writhing creature and put it out of its painful agony. To my horror, the stock of my brother’s gun broke completely off. This was not what I had hoped my walk with my companion would be like. I regretted my decision to take the gun along, and I wondered who was to be more pitied,