For Things Eternal

When I open my front door, and look out I see a road. It's a country road, but a country main route and you don't want to set up a lounge chair in the middle of it to take a nap. I'm sure it doesn't sound intimidating to most people, but a car drives by on average one per minute. That's enough for me! Enough people have had their barn cats flattened on this strip of road.

When I open my back door, the first thing I always tend to see is the sky. Here is where my insides become so alive that I could swear that every organ in my body has breath of its own and they all sigh in unison. There is so much sky that I have to turn my head from the right to the left to take it all in, all the while with my head tilted heavenward (and this just invites a lifting of the arms). Immediately in front of me is one of the largest willow trees in the area. It's creviced, gnarled branches twist and dance around each other and let their lovely tendrils hang. Then, straight back for about ten acres, is cleared land covered with contentedly munching ruminants that nary lift a head to swallow. In the center of the pasture is a pond filled with playful ducks quacking just as loud as they can just for the sheer pleasure of out-quacking each other. Often, a blue heron and some Canadian geese land for a while to fish or lay a clutch of eggs. Our land is surrounded by a treeline that literally hugs our property. In the warm weather when we get rain, there is consistently not one, but two rainbows encircling the sky overhead our home. On clear nights, especially in the winter, my husband and I just stand and gaze at the stars and say,"Wow...." How could a person say more? Nothing I say could add or subtract to the beauty.

Have I painted a picture of Eden? It is my Eden.

My purpose in writing this is because many people have come to visit my home and drink in the beauty like a hummingbird on a flower. They simply say,"Wow....." and often say no more. Occasionally, someone will say," I want to buy a home like this," or ,"Do you know how good you have it?" or even," This place makes me long for heaven." God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. Don't get caught up thinking your life has to be about slaving for 'the man' or acquiring gadgets. People lived a simple life like I do for many thousands of years. I mean, I even have indoor plumbing and electricity for pete's sake! There is an indisputable joy linked with providing things for yourself and not relying on systems devised by greedy men.

2 Peter 3:8-14 says,"Moreover, dear friends, do not ignore this: with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some people think of slowness; on the contrary, he is patient with you; for it is not his purpose that anyone should be destroyed, but that everyone should turn from his sins. However, the Day of the Lord will come 'like a thief.' On that Day, the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up. Since everything is going to be destroyed like this, what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives, as you wait for the Day of God and work to hasten its coming. That Day will bring on the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt from the heat; but we, following along with his promise, wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will be at home".

God gave us beauty on earth so that we would know that the carnal things of earth are not all that there is. There is glory. There is peace. There is a completion of all things left unanswered and unfinished here. Even my home, that inspires longing in some people's hearts, is deeply imperfect. Part of farming is life; part of it is death. We slaughter our animals, so there is a shedding of blood. When one of my ewes or does is in labor, there is obvious agony on her face. There is hunger and a fight for food. There is the labor involved with keeping things hygienic. There are thieves who steal from us. There are days with no rainbows, nights with no stars and sometimes our labor bears no fruit. I long for heaven. I long for God to make all things right.