far more stunning than before...

When I left my house for school this morning, the sun shone brightly and a Robin's egg blue patched the sky like a giant quilt. I smiled at the Sparrows' morning melody and squinted from the gleam of light spilling through the windows of the car. Beautiful.

I soon merged onto the freeway still squinting from the sun until a thick cloud sank to the road before me. The sun disappeared, and I felt as if I were in a bubble of fog. All I could see was a few yards of street ahead of me and the couple cars that shared the road beside me. Here and there a glimmer of dim sunlight squeezed it's way through the cloud reassuring me that it was still there and I only had a little longer until I would see it. So I drove on.

For several more minutes fog swirled around me and its canopy hid the sun. Then one golden sun beam split the gray fog. And then another. Soon all the sun's light broke through the cloud I'd been in and scattered the fog until, once again, I focused my gaze upon the beautiful morning I had anticipated from the start. But, it was even more stunning than before.

This experience reoccurred a couple more times during the rest of my drive, yet each time I escaped the foggy world around me, I knew I'd never seen the sun shine so bright. The cycle of fog to sun reminded me of my walk with the Lord. As a new Christian, the journey starts off with a clear view of Jesus. Everything is exciting and beautiful... until the fog sets in. The things of this world begin to steal our focus, and we lose sight of the One for which we're striving. We feel distant from God, as if He isn't there, and we can't see but a few feet around us. Nevertheless, even when we can't see God, He hasn't forgotten us. Just as the sun dimly peaked through the fog reminding me of its presence, so God reminds us that He is still there. He constantly draws us back to Himself, melting the fog that separates us, until we refocus our gaze on His glory.

Sadly, it's hard to keep our eyes on Jesus all the time, so this process is often repeated. But every time we're rescued from the haze, God is only more beautiful in our eyes. We see Him more clearly, love Him more deeply, and hold on to Him more tightly.

Before I knew it, my drive to school had ended. As I stepped out of the car, I immediately felt the warmth of the sun which flooded the campus with light. In the same way, soon our journey to heaven will end. The cycle of fog to sunshine we'll be over, and we'll know for sure the journey was worth it. When we finally step into the presence of our God, we will be drenched in the warmth and splendor of His light.

And it will be far more stunning than before.