We had a lovely vacation in our long anticipated trip to the EU and UK—thank you for the opportunity to get away! I’ll be sharing more detail in the weeks to come, but often someone asks “What was your favorite part?” That’s a difficult question! I have a lot—but let me share one of them as an introduction to the season of Lent that starts today.
One day we were on the road to get to one of our planned sights, when out the car window we spied a picturesque old bridge, so we pulled off the road to take a look. This happenstance along a highway then became one of the highlights of our trip! We thought we were just walking to the bridge to get some good pictures, but when we saw the little plaque stating the date of the bridge, we were both taken aback—the bridge had been built around 1504! Despite its age, and that it had been built for much smaller loads than our rental car, it felt as solid as could be driving across—though it had been built in 1504!
For folks who love history like us, this was quite a find—but it was right along the side of a highway with at least hundreds, if not thousands of cars driving by every day, most of which likely don’t even notice this treasure in plain sight. We talk about God sightings in our church prayer time—when you think about it, as obvious as that little bridge along the highway. Yet like that little bridge, treasure though it is, what could be our God-sightings go just as un-noticed.
I pray that for one of your disciplines this season of lent, that you will be intentional about keeping your eyes open—maybe even journal about or take pictures of God sightings that are all around us, so that at the end of Lent, you might have been able to develop the habit of noticing God’s little treasures all around every day. They don’t have to be dramatic to be a God sighting—most people wouldn’t think that little bridge very dramatic! But when you see the hand of God in even the simple things, God opens our eyes to so much more divine drama than we could ever imagine! Keep your eyes peeled!
– Pastor Jim