For the past six months, we have hit the trails each Friday to East Texas, “God’s country” as we like to call it. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, to a quieter, friendlier, more tranquil setting. East Texas is where everyone knows your name and everyone waves whether they know you or not. We get away from work and the worries of the world. The only problem we have is getting out of the big city which we call our “great escape.”
If we don’t leave home at just the right time, we face the threat of long hours in traffic jams. Now I don’t have data to prove it, but I could swear all 1.5 million Dallas/Fort Worth citizens are all heading to East Texas at the same time we are.
The heat was suffocating this weekend, sucking the very breath out of you. On Saturday evening we felt the first hint of a breeze. Distant thunder rumbled as winds picked up blowing both our flags down and even breaking one of the flag poles. Away from every worldly distraction, I sat quietly listening to the rumbles in hopes rain would come. I watched huge 60-foot pine trees sway in the wind, yet I was unafraid.
I knew those trees weren’t going anywhere because they had deep roots. The same can be said for us. I was reminded of scripture that if we plant our roots in God’s strength, then our foundation will hold strong and we will bear fruit.
Next weekend will be another great escape to the country. I can’t wait until the escapes from city life become fewer and the return to the city never comes.
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8
Tagged: east texas, fear and worry
