Wilderness Wonderings

A friend and I spent some time traversing through the woods today on 4-wheelers. As we drove through the paths so many things went through my mind. I was captured by the beauty I saw. My mind began to wonder what it must have been like for our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden. What did an unspoiled world look like?

On one path we had to pass through some brambles and I was quickly reminded of the curse brought into this world because of Adam's sin. Now amid beauty there is thorn and thistle. As we passed by a creek, I was reminded of how much the world must have been changed by the Flood of Noah's day. The world we now see must be so different from the world Adam first laid eyes on.

I thought about the hours I spent as a child playing in the woods in my backyard. I thought about the trails I hiked with friends when I lived in Pineville. I thought about a similar excursion Delia and I had two years ago in Cozmel, Mexico, and I hoped I wouldn't kill my friend's 4-wheeler (like the one I killed in Cozmel).

One thought that kept coming back to my mind revolved around our Lord. I kept thinking, if this place is so beautiful, so majestic, so breathtaking, so enlivening, what will it be like when we see Jesus face to face? When Jesus comes in all his glory, and we are able to behold him in his splendor, what will that be like? I can't say that I came up with an answer. I only know that if this world, even in its fallen state, is any indication of the beauty of that moment, then it will be something marvelous to behold. In that moment we will truly know what "awesome" means.

I thank the Lord for his marvelous creation, for the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it, the nose to smell it, the ability to taste it, and to be able to feel it. I am thankful for wonderful friends. I am grateful for the opportunity to just hang out and have a good time. I am thankful for so many things, things that I often take for granted, but bless my life in so many ways. I am grateful that I was able to get out and enjoy a glorious day, to laugh, to pray, and to play.