I love road trips! There, I said it! I have a longing to see every square inch of Gods big, beautiful creation that I can before He calls me home. On a humorous note, my dad used to tell my sister that he thought she must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle because she loved to talk, well, I think I was vaccinated with an automobile speedometer needle because I love to travel in the car. Now, I know in my relatively short life on this planet that I will never be able to come close to seeing even half of the wonders of God's creation but when I can, I love to jump spontaneously into the car and take off for unseen destinations. My husband has a bit of the adventurer in him too as he is almost always my traveling companion or "co-pilot" on my flights out of town! Wherever we go we almost always have an "adventure" that has imprinted itself on our hearts and minds each time.
On my most recent adventure/business trip we traveled to the Pocono Mountain area of my home state of Pennsylvania. We had an auction to hunt treasures at and the weather was a cool 58 degrees in the middle of the summer. Well, around my neck of the woods that kind of weather was unheard of and we were usually seeking shelter inside somewhere in the air conditioning, but not this day! I had a sweater on and sat outside with the breeze blowing and the sun having only enough warmth to make it absolutely "perfect". Business was good and the day proved to be very profitable and we drove away with our van filled with new inventory. The trip home was approximately 3 hours long and about an hour and a half into the journey I spied an exit sign for a State Park and I couldn't resist. We drove 6 miles off of the main interstate into an area that was heavily forested. As we entered the State Park there were so many trees that it appeared to be getting a little dark but it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. I pulled my van over to a quiet picnic area that was in the middle of the woods and while my husband rested his eyes I walked over to the weathered picnic table and sat down. It was so quiet and still that the only sound was my husbands heavy breathing in the car behind me where I had parked. It was such a beautiful scene that the only way that I could describe it was " something from a woodland fairy tale"! The woods appeared sort of dark because the trees were so close together that they allowed very little sunlight to penetrate the area. All over the forest floor were lush green fern that looked so feathery soft that they almost beckeoned me to walk on them, but I resisted. I couldn't take my eyes off of that scene because something didn't seem quite right! As I sat staring at the lush green forest floor it dawned on me what was puzzling me. How could so much lush, green growth exist with so very little sunlight to aid its growth? The ground was literally carpeted with fern in every direction for as far as I could see. As I sat there and pondered the wonderment of it all, I asked the Lord how it could possibly be so green and lush without the necessary amounts of sunlight that most plants need for healthy growth. Well, silly me. . . . . . What was I asking the Lord of the Universe? You know He always has the best answers! Here's what He asked me. . . . . "Jean, how much of my light needs to shine on something for you to see how it's affected?" What? He continued, "How soon after you asked me into your own life were others able to see me in you?" Good question Lord! I hoped that others could see the change in me right away! I saw the change, not just in my heart but in the attitude of my heart, especially when it came to other people! The Holy Spirit of God whispered to me at every turn and my heart was changed! My dark, hardened, lost in the woods heart had changed. The light of truth and love had shown down on me as I was in my darkness and that light caused new, green lushness to spring forth in me. It didn't take years and years before the evidence of His effects on me were seen. It happened in a relatively short period of time! "So, how long do YOU think it took for me to grow these fern that carpet my woods?" I wondered no more! He can do whatever He wants and the mystery of how He does it, well, I think I'll talk to Him a lot more about those things when I see Him face to face! In the meantime, I'll keep "road tripping" and discovering everything that I need to know!
Insight Insert: Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? If your answer is "yes" then the light has already shone down through your heavily forested life of darkness! Is there evidence of green growth in your life? If you have been truly changed by the light of salvation and love then there can't help but be change in your life! If you don't think so then my challenge for you this week is to dive into the Word of God and fill yourself with its truth. Go and be Jesus to someone who needs some love, understanding or care in their life. You are sure to notice just how "green" you will become with just a small amount of His light shining on you and through you.
Scripture: Psalms 1: 1-3. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and it's leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
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