MAKE ROOM FOR GROWTH

My wife and I needed to mix things up a bit. Our typical Sunday routine was getting a bit ordinary, so we decided to take a mini road trip. We packed a picnic lunch and immediately after church we headed down the road.

The destination was a small town an hour’s drive away. It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and a warm breeze…perfect conditions for a road trip. The road was fairly straight as it cut through seemingly infinite farms fields. Eventually, the road started to curve following the banks of a river that led to our planned destination. We pulled into the city park, found a shady spot to sit, and enjoyed our lunch.

After lunch, we took a short hike to the actual destination of our trip - the last old-fashioned covered bridge in the state.

It wasn’t like old paintings of a covered bridge; in fact, it has been well-maintained because cars haven’t been allowed to drive on it for decades.  We walked over it a couple times and started heading back to our car. As we walked down the path, I noticed a cluster of birch trees in their full shedding state. Birch trees are one of the few trees where you can actually see the bark’s shedding process. The old bark needs to shed to allow for the tree to continue to grow, which seemed rather fitting since the purpose of the trip was to shed our ordinary routine and allow for growth.

1 Peter 2:2 Like new born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS?

ENOUGH ALREADY!!! I'm almost positive that I share this thought with most people regarding the miserably cold temperatures that has had a death grip on much of the United States - definitely the upper Midwest. It’s like a constant running nose that causes a person to go through an entire box of Kleenex in a day, or a sore back that makes you realize how much you use your back muscles every minute of the day, even when you’re trying to sleep.

Back to the ugly subzero temperatures, it was getting pretty old trying to avoid it...having to put on multiple layers of clothing just to take out the garbage, or having to let your car run for an eternity so it's somewhat warm enough to sit in. I HAD ENOUGH of sitting around, so I asked my wife if she wanted to go on a hike New Year’s Day to enjoy the great outdoors. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “you know how cold it is, right?” I took that as a yes, so we bundled up and headed out the door.

The destination was a nearby waterfall. I figured the current sub-

A view well worth the cold.

zero temperatures, combined with a waterfall, would create something spectacular…at least it was worth a look. It was reassuring to see we weren’t the only people there, and the view was well worth it. It seemed nothing good could come from such bitter temperatures, but thankfully we didn’t let them win. After a couple minutes though, the sub-zero wind-chill was starting to bite at our faces, so we took a few pictures before our camera froze and headed back to the car, which seemed to run for another eternity before we were warm again.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.