It’s almost July, and summer is in full swing. Where has the time gone? What I thought would be a quiet and restful summer working up in the mountains has turned into a whirlwind of new friendships and adventures I wasn’t expecting to go on.
The result? Gnarly tan lines, lighter hair, and a slew of beautiful memories. But, I’ve noticed all of that has come at a cost. My time with Jesus has been limited and preparation for the race lacks.
Then again, there are lessons to learn and grace. So. Much. Grace.
This past weekend a friend and I met up to go on a hike, drink coffee, and do productive things. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Upon entering the Rocky Mountain National Park, we missed the turn onto the road that would have led us to the trailhead. Shrugging it off, we decided to keep driving.
The drive was beautiful. Clear blue skies and rugged mountains with steep cliffs lined our drive as we headed up trail ridge road.
God was there. He always is, but yesterday I was paying attention. We saw elk, a moose and its baby—His artistry nestled in the beauty of His sculpture.
Hungry for adventure, we continued to drive until the beauty of Grand Lake appeared. In an expedition to find a bag of chips to go with our PB&J’s, we were walking down the street in the company of multimillion-dollar homes. Crossing a bridge, we found ourselves walking a street called Jericho.
We crossed a body of water. We went on a journey, and we found ourselves at Jericho.
It might be a stretch to compare my journey to the Israelites’, but God had something to say about it…
…After the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they needed to get to Canaan, the land of milk and honey, via the unconquerable walls of Jericho.
But of course, as per usual, God provided.
Joshua trusted and obeyed, and He led the Israelites. They marched around the walls silently, and on the seventh day, against all odds, Joshua gave the command and the shouts of the Israelites brought the walls down.
Against all odds. Ha. The funny thing is God doesn’t follow statistics or logic. If he did, I would have gone hiking, drank coffee, and possibly done productive things. Instead, my friend and I, we missed a turn and found ourselves on a journey with an unknown destination. We crossed a river. We shared our hearts.
We are living in his promises.
Preparation for the race, and life in general, is a bit overwhelming at times. I have a tendency to forget what my purpose is, but strolling down Jericho Lane enforced it: to love people before the race, during the race, and after.
I love how God used a street sign to speak to me, and I love that the significance of this story didn’t sink in until I sat down to write about dead trees.
In the Rocky Mountains, there is a beetle epidemic. These tiny insects eat the bark of trees and kill them. As my friend and I were driving home, these dead dry trees became more obvious than they had been earlier that morning.
Even though these dead trees are ugly, the forest is still beautiful. It wasn’t until taking a second, closer look that I noticed how dry and dead much of the forest appeared. It reminded me of Ezekiel 37.
When evaluating myself, I see what is bad. The ugly. But I am still, as a whole, beautiful. Made in Christ’s image. When looking into other people, it isn’t until taking a second, closer look that I notice how dry and dead parts of their being appear. But, they are still beautiful.
The forest is beautiful as is, but if new things are too grow, the old, dry and dead need to go. Sometimes the task is simple, but not always. It requires patients and time much like my own life.
I forget God has me on a journey. I forget His promises, and I forget His presence. I forget to take care of what He has given me, and I let the beetle take over. But, He sits there handing me handfuls of grace and whispering into my ear.
Where we stand in this very moment is beautiful despite the dark and dry details. God is here, and he is speaking into the dead hollows of our bodies because even if the beetle is winning right now, it won’t always be victorious.
He made a promise, and He is taking us there. He is breathing life into us. We just have to get through Jericho because down the road, an oasis is waiting.
