Matters of the Heart

This past weekend my sister and I took a much-needed get-away to Herington, KS.

One morning I got up at 6:30, as the softness of the bed wasn't really conducive to sleeping in, and went for a bike ride around the lake.

I hadn't been on a bike for years but it didn't take long to learn to balance again. I drank in the beauty of the morning as I followed the road, up hill and down, around this curve and then the next bend. Kansas, known to be FLAT, did not seem so that morning. At times I got off my bike and walked it up the next hill. I kept pushing on for I always wanted to see what was just around the next bend but no matter how far I went I couldn't quite see the end of the road.

I thought how much like life this is. The ups and downs, the pushing on, always straining to see what's ahead. Struggling to climb the next hill, triumphantly reaching the top, stopping to look back and say, "Now, that wasn't so bad after-all!" And then, at times, you turn around and go back the way you came and you discover the hills you struggled to climb, you can now coast down with ease.

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Another adventure was searching for Hope. Several years ago I found out there is a town in Kansas named Hope. It piqued my interest and I wanted to go there. When we realized it was only 15 miles from the place we were staying we decided to go check it out.

If you look closely, you will see the slogan at the bottom:

"There will always be Hope in Kansas." 

It was fun driving around this small town, which boasts a population of 334, to find a bank, a filling station, a park, a cafe but most of all a church.

Somehow my heart stirred with hope once more as my eyes were turned back to Him.

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Driving home this morning we listened to an excellent sermon by Pastor Eric on "The Wilderness". This was the 3rd Sunday in the 4-week series.

He talked about the children of Israel wandering through the desert and how they got so frustrated and wanted to go back. The uncertainty, the barrenness, the lack of comforts of life or even necessities, which God supernaturally provided.

And it says:

"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands." Deuteronomy 8:2

In school days the teacher gave us tests to learn what was in our heads. Now God gives us tests to learn what is in our hearts. 

You can listen to the full sermon here.

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At the end of the day there is hope!