My Bench

The view is incredible from where I am sitting.

The sun is beginning to set and I can see the light reflecting off the snow covered mountains in the background. I’m not really good at guessing distance, but I bet I can see for miles right now. I can see across the valley- trees, roads, fields, and a few country homes.

It’s a peaceful place to be.

The cool thing is, it’s only a short walk from my house – in fact, when I’m really quiet I can hear my dog barking in our backyard.

I haven’t written in a while, I’m not sure why. I would blame it on busyness, but I was just as busy a month ago. I would blame it on a lack of thoughts, but I have still been thinking.

I do a lot of thinking.

It’s a big part of my job. In fact, it is one of the most important parts of my job. I get asked all the time how the Bible, written so long ago, applies to our lives today. It makes me think. I get asked how there can be so much pain and heartache in the world and still be a God. Why do bad things always happen to good people and good things always seem to happen to bad people? It causes me to think.

I have been asked how science and religion go together, why some Christians don’t act all that “Christian” and why God allows so much hate.

All of these questions and more, cause me to think.

It is here, sitting on a perfectly placed bench, on top of a hill, over looking a valley, that I like to think.

I don’t always come up with the best answers. To be honest, I usually only come up with only one. It isn’t the answer that seems more intellectually satisfying. But, it is incredibly comforting.

It is as if God is saying,
“this is my creation and you are my child. I created you, I saved you, and now I hold you tightly in my arms.”

Strangely, I’m satisfied with that as an answer. I don’t know why some kids are forced to live in homes that are abusive. I don’t know why helpless children die. I don’t know why a man would rape an innocent girl, a father would beat his child, or why families must suffer in the cold tonight because they have no home.

I don’t know the answer, but I am satisfied with knowing that the God who created the mountains also created me. The God who holds time in his hands, has grabbed a hold of me. I also am reminded that this same God also deperately cares about the hurt and pain in people's lives.

I still have questions and I still continue to think, but I am left in awe of who God is. He is the Great I AM.

Maybe you think about the same things. Maybe you aren’t satisfied with the answer, “God is God, and I am not.” But if you have a moment, you can join me on this bench and maybe you will see what I see painted across the sky, whispering in the wind, and calling out from the depths of creation. It is the fingerprints of God saying, “you are mine – trust in me.”