A Beautiful Place

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Back in the early 90's, Christian singer/songwriter Wayne Watson recorded a song entitled, "A Beautiful Place." It was a song about how the difficult times and painful circumstances in our lives can lead us to, well, beautiful places.  One of my favorite parts of the song was the short bridge...

And the unspoiled beauty of the wisdom of God lies in the wilderness

Up there beyond the easy reach

Where the journey takes a little more faith I guess, I guess.

And then the chorus...

Mistakes and misfortunes will come and go

But to try and to fail is no mistake

Sometimes a rough and a rocky road

Is gonna take you to a beautiful place

I was thinking about that song last night as Sue and I were enjoying the view from the deck of the house we have recently moved into.  We were amazed at how we ended up in such a beautiful place.  For the almost 27 years that we have been married, and all the places we have been, all Sue has ever wanted was a house with a wrap around porch.  All I have wanted was a quiet cabin in the pines near the mountains. And, here we sit with all of that and so much more.  This house (a blessing that was made available to us by the people who built it but cannot live in it right now) is so amazing that we often feel a pang of guilt that we get to enjoy it!  Beside all the beauty and top of the line features inside, it sits nestled in the trees, on the backside of a hill with a view facing the mountains and very little noise except the birds and squirrels, and the wind as it moves through the pines.  We wake up to deer outside our windows and see wild turkeys and lots of horses on the road down to the valley below.  The air is always clean and fresh and cool, with the hint of smoke from our wood stove.  I'm pretty "okay" with the situation. Can you tell?

The road to this beautiful place has been long, and at times painful.  There were moments when I wondered if we had made a wrong turn.  But, we kept going, trusting that the Hand that leads us is faithful to every promise made.  While bouncing along the road, we have learned so much about God, and ministry, and faith, and we have been so blessed by the people we have been privileged to know and serve and share life with.  I can honestly say that I value this place (and the church I currently pastor) so much more now than I ever would have before.  Sometimes it takes miles and miles of difficult travel, with bumps and ruts and dust, to help you appreciate what you can so easily take for granted before that ride.  A rough and rocky road really can get you to someplace special.  And when you get there you realize that it is really worth it.

All glory to God,Who leads and guides us with great love and unfailing wisdom.

Sometimes I Can See Well Enough, But Not Good Enough

"I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word." Psalm 119:15-16

I did it for the third time this morning.  You would think after the first, or at least the second time, I'd learn.  But, I did it again.  On Tuesday mornings I get up at 6am and walk from the house we are living in to the church (just across the street) to lead a Bible study.  I try to keep the house as dark as possible so as not to wake up Josiah, and to give Sue a few extra minutes of sleep.  I have all my clothes waiting in the bathroom, so I can get dressed without disturbing anyone.  I turn on a small light in the kitchen that reflects just enough light into the living room so I can see to put my shoes on, then I grab my Bible and keys and head out the door.  It never strikes me until I get to the church that I forgot something very important - my glasses.

I suppose that after more than ten years of wearing glasses, putting them on first thing would be second nature.  But it isn't.  The problem is that I can see without them.  My vision is not so impaired that I immediately recognize my need of them.  I can see most things fairly clear, and I can even read things that are of a decent size without having them on.  It is not like the world is one big blurry mess if I don't have them on.  So, in my rush to get out the door and because nothing is demanding a clearer view, off I go.  I finally realize my failure when I open the pages of my Bible and THEN the world becomes a blurry mess.  What I really need to see, I can't see, without the help provided by my glasses.  Those little black letters all just run together and I can't make heads or tails out of them without stretching my arms out to their limits and squinting and straining and twisting my neck in all kinds of ways.

This is true in life too, isn't it?  We see the world around us just good enough to make us forget that we need help to see what is really important.  Then, when situations and circumstances arise that are important, and they demand a clearer vision, too often all the little pieces become blurry and we can't make sense of what they are telling us or what they mean. We struggle to see the truth, and what is a warning is not recognized because it is not clear to our eyes.

O how thankful I am for God's Word!  If it weren't for the lens of the Scripture, I would only see what my eyes (weak as they are) are capable of seeing, and I need to see so much more!  I need to see so much that is small and seemingly hidden, but of timeless value for me as a husband, father, friend, and pastor.  I cannot afford to allow eternal truth to be blurred or missed by eyes dulled by temporary images of grandeur.  I need to put my "glasses" on every day, knowing that it is the only way I can see what is really important.

A Lesson from the Lottery

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

 (Matthew 6:19-21)

This morning the radio announced that two people had won the BIG lottery.  One was from Washington, and the other from Idaho.  I couldn't help for just a moment (really, that is all it was!) to be a little envious. I mentioned it to Sue as Josiah was getting ready to head out the door to school, and we were talking about it together.  Josiah wanted to know what I would do if I won $300 million - what would I buy with it? I told him I didn't really know - that is a lot of money and sometimes having that much of it can make your life much more difficult than easy.  Josiah promptly told us how if he won the money, he would go out and buy lots of video games.  Of course, I wasn't real pleased with that response, so we talked a little more about it. It's tough when your dad is a pastor.

But, then I realized I am not that much different in my thinking.  I have a heavenly Father who offers me infinitely more than any lottery could supply, and so often my desires are so earthly and temporary.  My flesh craves things that will not last, and wll rust and fade and lose their shine. O how I long to have as my greatest desire that which reflects the brilliance of eternal glory.  When will I learn that I have already become rich beyond all earthly measure in what really matters?  My prayer this morning was that God would give me a heart that sees beyond the glitter of this world so that I can embrace the glory of heaven.