One of life's pleasures, for me, is standing in a meadow, preferably in the southern wilderness region of the Adirondack Mountains, surrounded by wildflowers and butterflies! During my childhood summers, my family owned a camp in the Adirondacks and we went for walks in the woods every day. Most days we also played in a field near a creek that wound through our property. I began to love butterflies and would spend many minutes watching them flutter about. They always seem so carefree to me. I still enjoy butterflies and I still love the mountain meadows. Now I go with my husband and children or with friends. We take long hikes. We stroll through fields of flowers, sit by winding creeks, sunbathe near breathtaking, icy-cold lakes. When I am in the mountains, or on a ledge on the trails, or relaxing in the mountain meadows, my spirit is at peace. The cares of daily life just seem to fall away. I am truly at "home" within my soul. My family no longer owns a summer camp as my parents sold it when I was a teen. But, my husband makes sure I get that "fix" I need each summer to spend time up there. We thank the Lord for His blessings and for being able to live so close by. Do I still dream of owning land one day in the mountains I love so much? Oh yes. It is ok to dream, isn't it?! Sometimes I think about different portions of Scriptures that come to my mind when I am hiking or spending time in these meadows and woods. One Psalm I like is from Psalm 16. I like the entire chapter but I especially like these verses: "keep me safe O God, for in You I take refuge.....therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.....You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your Presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16: 1, 9, 11 NIV)
The pleasure I get from being surrounded by the creation of the Lord, the mountains, the lakes, the wildflowers, the butterflies, is nothing compared to being surrounded by His Glory and the knowledge of just knowing Him and being His! If all these earthly pleasures were stripped away, we can still have pleasure in Him...the Creator of it all and the One who gives true Peace. What do you pleasure in?
The pleasure I get from being surrounded by the creation of the Lord, the mountains, the lakes, the wildflowers, the butterflies, is nothing compared to being surrounded by His Glory and the knowledge of just knowing Him and being His! If all these earthly pleasures were stripped away, we can still have pleasure in Him...the Creator of it all and the One who gives true Peace. What do you pleasure in?
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