Rejoicing Over What's Right In The World

I just got back in from our weekend retreat. I can't wait to hit the sack. The long drive has just about drained me. But I just have to get this posted for a couple of good reasons.

One, for those that came here anyway and paid a visit. Know that you are precious to me and I praise the LORD for you.

Another, for the spiritual refreshing the LORD blessed me with in this trip. A journey with people that matter in your life has a way of recharging the spirit when committed to the guidance and purposes of the Father.

My wife and I were able to give her mom and dad some time away from their usual busy days. I got to show her dad some of my fishing secrets. My wife had a blast with her mom hauling in crabs from the sea.

There's something about the tug of a fish at the end of your line that makes you not mind the cold and the mist. There's hilarity in the way there are so many crabs you catch even when you release most because they are not the right size or gender.

There's something about starting your trip in bad weather and then having good weather throughout the rest of it. There's something about sunshine in the morning, exploring jetties that jut out to the ocean for future fishing adventures, all you can eat buffet, historical aircraft in a local museum.

There's something about seeing your kids just taking in the fun, revelling in the time away from school and the usual, thankful for the break and really taking the time to rest their minds.

There's something about the prayers we shared together during this journey.

I know that the believer is instructed not to love the world:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Still, there is much about the world the believer may celebrate. Though marred by sin, it is still God's creation. Many things remain right in the world. God's beauty remains apparent in the trees that line the mountains, the ocean spray as waves crash rocky beaches, the birds that hang on the fresh sea breeze like magnificent gliders, the sun that peeks through heavy laden clouds sending razor sharp rays through the forest canopy.

God is there in the vigorous goodnights at a journey's end. You know that the goodnights are fonder than the hellos at the beginning of the trip.

I am one with the writer of Philippians:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:4-5)