If only I'd known this sooner.
Digging deeper to find joy where others find sorrow.
We sat together and couldn't believe our eyes.
How did we get here?
It's been almost a year since the most significant change in our lives. There had been highs and lows, disappointments and triumphs.
The hardest thing was to keep moving forward.
But in it all, if there's one thing we know, it's this;
"Any hurt is worth it that puts us on the path of peace, setting us free for the pursuit, in Christ, of eternal life."
Those are Eugene Peterson's words from his book "A Long Obedience In The Same Direction." It is one of our favorites and well worth having in your library.
So, as we sat on the beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, we thanked the Lord for his path through the hurt that has allowed us the peace to pursue Christ and eternal life.
The blessing of being able to visit such a beautiful place and to minister here is not lost on us. Ministry is not usually like this - for sure, it has lovely moments, but it has many, many ordinary days, too.
So there we sat, thanking the Lord for this season and committing to continue serving Him, excited for the year ahead.
Our eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the splendor of the horizon. It stretched out as far as the eye could see like one long, continuous journey.
If only life, ministry, and creating great art were always just that simple.
Reflecting on the beauty of it all, we were reminded that while the Christian life can be beautiful, it's not always as idyllic as a sunset at the beach.
The majority of life is more like Koko Head.
Everyone knows Diamond Head in Hawaii. Tom and I have run up it before, and there was an incident with a bleeding nose (but that's a story for another time).
Few people know of Koko Head.
Equally as impressive, Koko Head sits on the island's east side. It consists of 1048 giant steps etched into the side of the mountain. The stairs sit inside old railroad tracks used to transport equipment and supplies to the top.
I've thought of climbing it, and when I tell people I want to, I get mixed responses. Some tell me, "People only climb it to get fit." Others say, "You shouldn't start unless you're committed." Some people laugh at me, and others tell me to stop talking about it and just do it!
The view from the top is apparently fantastic. You get a 360-degree panorama that will knock your socks off. And the sense of accomplishment would be incredible.
But I wonder, is the joy actually in the climb?
While the accomplishment at the top is great, it's fleeting and momentary; the climb lasts so much longer.
The Psalms speak to this idea of "the climb."
Often, Israel would use the Psalms to punctuate trips to festivals in Jerusalem. They sang the “Psalms of Ascent” along the way to mark progress.
Sometimes, could it be that in our eagerness to arrive somewhere beautiful, we miss the splendor of the giant stones on the side of a mountain? Or perhaps we miss the change in vegetation as we climb. And the conversations and laughter shared with friends on the way are stifled by the need to achieve, to get to the top, or to succeed.
Sometimes, in our focused attention on doing something good for the Lord, do we lose sight of our traveling companions or even ourselves?
40 years in the desert is a long time!
I've often thought about 40 years in the desert - a journey that should have taken 11 days. But God knew what he was doing.
In the wilderness wandering, he forged something in Joshua and Caleb, Moses and Aaron, Miriam and Hur. Their ears were tuned to the Lord; their eyes saw God in the cloud and the pillar of fire. They learned to recognize Him in the manna and the quails, and they understood that their shoes didn't wear out as a sign of His provision. They discovered new wonders and fresh revelations of God's abiding presence in the long and arduous journey.
I'm not sure where the Lord has you creating and ministering today.
You could be on the mountain top, or more likely, mid-way up a mountain, trying to will yourself to take another step.
But I do know this: not every day will end with a beach sunset. Few will provide take-your-breathaway, awe-inspiring mountaintop experiences, but many days will look like one step in front of the other and an uphill climb.
And that's just fine because the real joy in life is discovered by finding the wonder in places others despise.
As we read in Psalm 84:5-7;
"How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion."
So today, may you dig deep and find pleasant pools in your ordinary, everyday service of the Lord. And may you deliberately choose, as Eugene says, a long obedience in the same direction.
Over to you...
Digging Deeper…