God's Garden Gate

There’s just something about a garden gate that draws and prompts me to peak into the world beyond its frame. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rustic wooden gate that’s secured by rusty hinges or an ornate wrought iron masterpiece that’s standing as a sentinel guarding a valuable treasure . . . I long to go inside.

The intrigue of the gate is that it allows me to see just a little of what’s beyond the entrance. It may be a field of wildflowers, a lush pathway that meanders around a bend out of sight, a beautiful manicured garden surrounding statues and fountains, or a simple garden that someone has tended with love and devotion. But then that’s all I can see from the gate and that’s where the intrigue comes in . . . the desire to see more.

That’s also the way I see a new year . . . like a garden gate.

As I look ahead, I have already marked my calendar with dates for appointments, a much-anticipated play at the Peace Center, family gatherings and meetings therefore I can see into the year, a little. But, like the gate that only allows me a glance, there is so much more I want to see and experience.

Even though I can’t see the full year before me, I do know that God is already there and that He has a plan for me; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jer. 29:11.

My desire is that as I walk through the gate of a new year, that I will be more intentional in studying God’s word because it and only it will lighten the path before me.

 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105.

What do you want to be more intentional about this year? My prayer is that no matter what you find in 2018, you will have the assurance of God’s grace and love and feel His presence as He walks with you.