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.
