Skip to main content

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Often times, I see something that stops me in my tracks and I’m thankful I have my phone so I can snap a photo. I’m one of those who has over 15,000 photos and probably at risk of losing storage space. But I just can’t bring myself to delete the pictures I have taken over the years. Each picture is a memory or story for me. Sometimes I might later see something in that photo that I didn’t see when I took it. 

We just got back from an incredible week in Maui. The beauty there is next level and I have an entire album to create of the photos I took. I would stop on our runs to snap a shot of sea turtles or video the waves crashing on the rocky shore. The sunsets and rainbows took my breath away, so I took at least five shots of each one I saw. Ok. I went overboard and should clear up some storage space but it was just amazing! I can’t believe I get to do this! 

Jim found a walking trail nearby at what must be an abandoned golf course. We set out for the exercise piece of it but we’re totally blown away by the beauty nestled in the woods off the shore of this island. I mean, who knew that Hawaii could be so woodsy? If I hadn’t known better I would have thought we stepped back to Massachusetts. That and the humidity was a 100% match.


The contrasting colors are my favorite. Deep green, pine trees against the brilliant, blue sky with stark white, puffy clouds. The brown pine needles lined the asphalt path in some areas and an occasional ray of sunlight would peek through those tall trees. At one point we just stopped to take in the smell of the pine trees. Jim knows it’s my favorite. I took a video of the wind blowing through the trees and it actually sounded a lot like the ocean. Side note, videos take up a lot of storage too. 

We walked through a tunnel along the path. It was one of those man made out of an oversized storm drain so it was round. It was pretty dark but you could see all of those contrasting colors in a circle on the other side of the tunnel. When I tried to take a picture, it literally came up as a light at the end of the tunnel on my screen. Which I found to be pretty cool. 




It made me think of times where I have been in some pretty dark days. I also found it encouraging for the dark days which will inevitably come again. Because this world and everything in it has some dark days. But they are temporary. Light always shines brightest in the darkness. So that light penetrating the dark tunnel was blinding, and oh so encouraging.


 I know that God is light and in Him there is no darkness. I sensed Him at the end of that dark tunnel reminding me of just that. He asks us to trust Him even in those moments of darkness. Some times the tunnel we are walk through will seem much longer than another. God is good and He is faithful. He will see us through those dark days, regardless of the length of the tunnel. That’s a promise from Him. 

And just look at the picture I was able to capture towards the end of that journey! I just love when God shows Himself to us. It happens more than we realize. We just need to slow down and look closer. 



Pressing On 


“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
1 John 1:5 NIV


“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 NIV


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Season of Spring

  The mornings are so beautiful right now that I want to soak them in before the scorching heat is in its full glory. The sun comes up shortly after I do this time of year. My favorite thing to do is grab my bible, journal and a cup of coffee and sit out back with Annie while the sun rises. The birds are literally singing, the quail make more of a squawk like sound than a song but I love it.   Occasionally, I will hear an owl on a neighboring rooftop or the party of a pack of coyotes in the distance celebrating their recent conquest. I’m always surprised that these sounds don’t faze Annie one bit. Make no mistake, if the trash truck or other large vehicle drives past our dividing wall she goes absolutely K-9, as if she’s military, saving us from being attacked. Bless her heart.   Spring typically comes early in Phoenix and is somewhat short lived. I often think we go from Winter to Summer with seemingly little time to wear any of the light weight sweaters I have hangi...
2 comments
Read more

Minding My Own Tail

Have you ever heard of Happy Tail? Me either. At least not until our semi sweet chocolate lab came home from boarding with Happy Tail. They explained to me, it’s because Annie is so excited when anyone walks by her kennel; she wags her tail so fiercely that it beats up against the crate. This caused her to rub the fur off of a spot on the tip of her tail. Eventually, the skin broke open and it bled...... therefore she had been diagnosed with Happy Tail.  It cleared up until she had to spend a little more time in her kennel recently. At first I didn’t even notice. Only wondering where all the blood on my walls was coming from. Once I realized it was that Happy Tail again, I wrapped it with gauze and some first aid tape. That lasted only until the doorbell rang and a guest arrived. Several rapid wags and the wrap went flying like a severed finger and the bleeding was all over the walls along with our guest’s pants. So embarrassing! But also poor Annie. It had to hurt. I knew it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don’t Blink

It’s still dark out and I’ve only had half a cup of coffee but I’m wide awake. The big house is quite, with the exception of the humming appliances and the cooing of  the sweetest baby in the world.  I’m sitting here holding my grandson. My grandson! He is as perfect as they come. Pink, thick and squishy. He makes the cutest noises as he sleeps in my arms. And smells so good. What is it about baby skin and peach fuzz? Mom and Dad are resting from what I’m assuming was a rough night. Oh the circle of life. I do remember those days of sleepless nights. I wish I had someone tell me then not to blink. Because 30 years will fly by. This little one will be in school, blink- driving, blink-graduating college, blink- getting married, blink- having his own child.   You know what? Knowing what I know now, I would still blink. Because this next stage in life is pretty amazing too. Every stage in life is a gift. It’s meant to be lived out abundantly and enjoyed to the full!...
Post a Comment
Read more