re: stuff

The laundry is almost done now from the week of camping and we decided to go on a driving tour today of the mines up around Creede. It took about 2 hours and was absolutely a beautiful drive…..and the brochure we had told all about the old settlements that had been up there and about some of the history and people who lived there. We stopped twice to hunt minerals in mine trailings and several times to take pictures of the scenery. The lupines are in full bloom here and are mostly situated under and skirting around the aspen groves. It is charming!

Tonight we’ll cook steak on the grill with baked potatoes (and all the trimmings) and nice green salad. It is very hard to get your veggies and your fiber while camping. Mostly we’ve been eating meat, potatoes, canned things and junk food. I feel better now having the fridge stocked with some whole grain things and fresh produce.

This is reminding me of how God is. He allows us to go through rough, dirty, stinky, uncomfortable times in life, that is true. Everyone does. But then He provides the refreshing, overwhelmingly comforting times too. We’ve had kind of a rough year with depression lurking and some “people issues” that can drain you in ministry. So we are soaking in this refreshing time.

Re-fresh….there’s another “re”…..to get your freshness back. Wish you could refresh produce too…but sadly it is either fresh or not, no going back. How sad it is to open the ‘crisper’ drawer of the fridge and find wilted, moldy stuff….the nice produce that looked so perky and fresh when it was put away, all spoilt. Such a shame.

Perhaps that is how God looks at us when we aren’t used and sit around in our ‘crisper’ drawer too long, which is why you have to go back down after being in a mountaintop retreat time. We are all fresh and perky when we go in, but lack of purpose creeps in and wilts and molds and destroys. I’m glad I’m not a grape or bag of lettuce that cannot be refreshed once it wilts. Thankfully we are renewable…..we can re-fresh in God’s presence and be new again.