Three Different Views

As I said before, last week I discovered a new favorite place to go to enjoy those rare but sweet times away with the Lord. As I was sitting there, I put my headphones in and was listening to some worship songs and set out to pray for Billy and Hope. I looked down and right below me was pretty ugly sight in and of itself. It was the first of the trees and bushes that made up what is now a sight I love. There was kudzoo - for those of you not from the south and not blessed with kudzoo - it is not that pretty and it takes over anything in it's path - a vine "that so easily enatangles." And then I looked right past those bushes/trees/kudzoo - and I saw bigger trees and some were alieve and green and many were dying - being choked out by they kudzoo - it will eventually kill what it entangles. But then I looked even further and there is where I saw my beauty - what will keep bringing me back to this spot. It was the big picture. God used his creation to teach and remind me of some of his great truths.

Up Close and Ugly:

This picture is just ugly. In it I do not see any beauty. I sure some of you may find some and that is great - God wired you different than me. I can't count the times that this is how I felt about my current situation. I have a hard, hard time seeing God's goodness, his beauty in my immediate life circumstances. The truth is that sometimes there really is no good there. You see God did not promise me all good. He only promised to work it for the good in the bigger picture of my life. Sometimes when God reminds me of this I can look right past my struggles and I see a glimpse of beauty but other times I am still only seeing ugly and death.

(For me in these last few months it is the death of some wrong beliefs about who I think I am and who Christ says I am. You see the kudzoo was killing some of the things in my life it had entangled. God has set about pruning this kudzoo in my life so that I can breathe and grow and thrive.)

But the wonderful thing is when you look up even farther and you see the beautiful and glorious things that God has in store for me. Not necessarily here on this earth. For me my big view is not one that is earthly because I don't think any view of this work on earth is complete. My big view is of my eternal treasure with God in heaven. And that all of these ugly, little snippets piece together the story of my life in Christ. He promised me that He that begin a good work in me would carry it out till completion. This moment, this week, this month, this year, this lifetime is not my big picture and I so want to be reminded of that more often than I have of late. My big picture from the top of Bluff Park at the Tip Top Diner is just another physical, earthy reminder that God has blessed me with today to remind me that this world is not my home and that I CAN NOT be consumed with daily life. It all is about the bigger, better, splendid thing that God is doing in my story for His glory.