Desires of the Heart

Certainly the Lord provides us with moments like these as often as He knows we need them.

Recently, we took a little trip to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri to visit my son who was in the final week of his advanced training with the Army. The day before we pointed the truck North, a major snow event was forecast for that area, and believe it or not, the weatherman got it right! Somewhere in the neighborhood of a foot of snow fell overnight leaving these imports from Louisiana feeling like kids at Christmastime! When the powers that be canceled the first day of the two-day visitation, we were bummed out but decided to have a little fun in our newfound Winter Wonderland.

We all concluded that the snow we encountered up there was in a different category than the dustings we periodically get around home. This snow was – well – snow! You could make snowballs, snowmen, snow angels, snow whatever! And on the free day we now had on our hands, we did all of the above. Of course being in one of those “who-knows-when-we-may-do-this-again” situations, we took scores of pictures. (It crossed my mind in the midst of the snapping how my mom used to be ultra-conservative with the 36 exposures of film we would purchase for cameras in my childhood’s pre-digital camera days…had this been then, we would have had maybe 3 or 4 pictures of the event!) Anyway, I’ve looked back on the dozens of moments captured since that weekend, each one with a story to tell, but I want to conclude this writing with an explanation of one of those pictures – the one atop this post.

After building everything we could think of out of the snow, we decided to make the short drive to Mammoth Spring State Park. Here, an enormous natural spring comes out of the ground and forms the Spring River. It was in this place that all the elements of my surroundings came together to impress upon my heart one of what my late friend Randy Carruth would refer to as an “Only God” kind of moment. The snow, the stream, and the steam were used in that moment to remind me of the truth that our God gives us all things to freely enjoy (1Timothy 6:17). For us southerners, we were certainly enjoying what was an uncommon occurrence for us! Further, I was reminded in that moment that the scripture declares that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). As this moment unfolded and I simply enjoyed it as a gift from God, I began to realize the eternality of the moment. For me, this had become more than a snow event – it had turned into an immensely personal encounter between myself and my creator. In an effort to encourage the next passer-by to view the scene through a similar lens, I scribbled a scripture reference in the snow – Psalm 42:1. God had met with me there on the snow-covered bank of the Spring River and recharged the batteries of my soul. I love encounters like these!

Certainly the Lord provides us with moments like these as often as He knows we need them, and as often as we choose to open our eyes and the eyes of our hearts to see them for what they are. And in light of that, I encourage each of you to make the most of the “Only God” moments that He so chooses to bless us with. Whether on a snow-covered river bank or in the sultry sauna of summertime humidity, choose to see the things that God gives you to enjoy and be reminded of His loving care towards us. And then when the next snowstorm comes or in a lightning-clad thunderstorm or some event in-between, we can talk it over and compare how God met with us and spoke deeply to us – In the Great Outdoors!