The first week of June, I took a three-day "Wild Hogs" motorcycle trip with Pastor Timmy & two other guys to celebrate Timmy's 40th birthday. Yeah, he's officially a gezer...ha! We rode through the Ozark mountains around Eureka Springs and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. A few weeks before that, I camped out with my dad, brother, and 3-year-old son for two nights at the lake. Both excursions were really fun and refreshing--but in deeper ways than I expected!
While we were out camping, I felt something behind my ear and discovered a tick crawling into my hairline. That got us talking about how amazing and disturbing it is that something so small could possibly give you a life-threatening disease like Lyme's, or like malaria from a mosquito! It reminded me of how incredibly fragile we really are. Sometimes we get so used to being the masters of the universe that our human pride whispers invincibility in our own ears, without our even realizing it. It's a subtle shift from gratitude to self-sufficiency that sets us up for confusion and disappointment. I believe it's healthy for us to remind ourselves how small we really are.
Both nights of camping were crystal clear and beautiful, and most of the motorcycle trip was beautiful too--we did get rained on once, which hurt pretty good! Especially while we were out on the bikes, though, I found myself getting lost in the sheer beauty of it all. The contour of the horizon, the colors of the sun set, the layers of vegetation, even the refreshing chill of the rain. When you really look at it, really take time to do nothing else but look at the world we live in, it's amazing! Every time I do, I can't help but insist that this didn't happen by accident; it couldn't have only been a random occurrence at some point in the past 400 million years or whatever.
Then the pieces came together for me. It was this realization (again) that we have been placed on this planet not just to survive, but to thrive, to enjoy the journey, and to bask in each of the moments we are given. We are small but not insignificant. Fragile but not forgotten. As menial as our individual existence can seem as times, it is not. We are all uniquely shaped, designed, and gifted for a specific niche. What an insight into the heart of God that is! The vastness of His ability and creativity, as well as the beauty of His love. I'm again completely baffled at the depth of His goodness, and inspired to love the life He has entrusted to me!
If you're working like a dog, good for you...just make sure you make time to play like a dog too! We were made to LIVE, baby!
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