Sometimes the things we take most for granted are nothing short of awe-inspiring. Like flying, for example. I recently experienced that on flights from our coastal home to the interior of British Columbia. In a matter of less than an hour and a half I went from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the edge of vast stands of forest and rolling hills. Grass and sandy beaches had been replaced by towering trees and barbed wire fences.
During the twenty minute flight from Powell River to Vancouver and later, the one hour flight from Vancouver to Williams Lake, I couldn't help but compare the scenery. Tide lines, ferries, barges, boats, islands of many sizes and shapes and vast expanses of water came first. Then there were those miles and miles of trees, mountains and lakes. All the while I thought of pioneer explorers trekking their way across the country and I couldn't even begin to imagine what they endured. On the other hand, what exhilaration they must have felt when they conquered each hill, crossed threatening waters or worked their way through deep and forbidding valleys. There probably were those other challenges as well, that indefinable feeling of "what now" that comes with long searches before anything of value is found. As hard as it was to imagine their journey, I realized that they could not have known that, what took them weeks, months, even years, I could traverse in hours or minutes.
Looking back over my life I can't help but think of the changes I've experienced; some good, some devastating at the time. How grateful I am for the One who knows the end from the beginning.
"But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10, NKJV
He never changes!
