A Long and Winding Road

My mind is most often at peace when I'm at my woodland cabin gazing at the forest that surrounds it on every side. As leaves continue to fall from the towering trees, trunks become visible, their twists and turns more obvious to the eye.

Staring at one such tree a few weeks ago, I noticed how the tree had grown straight and strong for many years then taken a severe twist to one side before over-correcting to the other side with an equally severe turn. Eventually the tree righted itself to reach straight up toward the sun.

As I meditated on the view, my Bible open on my lap, it dawned on me how my life and the lives of so many people I know imitate that tree. We grew straight in our early years as we were raised and mentored and held accountable by parents, teachers, and others. Then, left to our own decisions, our lives took severe twists and turns until we found our way back to the sun. By the grace of God, I found my way at the age of 33 to Jesus, the true Son, and finally began to walk a straighter path - not perfect, not legalistic, not even close - but a path that led me one day at a time (Left Foot, Right Foot as Pastor Rich at Vineyard Columbus often says) to freedom in Christ. Freedom to be my authentic self, to no longer worry about what others think, to forgive more freely understanding that hurt people hurt people, and to trust that as long as I'm walking close to Christ in intimate relationship with Him, He will lead me.

If you want to be free, to live a life of overflowing peace and joy and love and so much more, I invite you to ask God to show you the way. Then, come back and join me on this amazing journey. If you know Christ or are searching, what are you hearing Him say? How is God making Himself known to you?