Have you ever looked at a situation or circumstance in your life and thought…is this it?!
I had a moment like that this weekend when I took the kids to Providence State Park.
We went on an adventure or a “long journey” as Cash called it to see “Georgia’s little Grand Canyon.”
I had seen beautiful pictures and heard positive reviews that promised a great experience.
Although it sounded great, I hadn’t yet experienced it for myself.
One of the positive reviews was from a friend with good taste for travel and adventure so I trusted her when she said it was a great experience. My expectations were set. And they were high.
It was a 3 hour car ride to the Canyon. We hoped the view at the end would be worth the journey we took to get there. (Follow me, I’m going somewhere with this.)
It was nice to get some quality time with Tristen talking about whatever he wanted.
Mostly horror movies and the NFL draft. Chick fil a milkshakes & kid music had everyone in a good mood and excited to see this canyon!
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When we got there, we learned of the many optional paths available.
Each with a different trail and view of the Canyon.
We didn’t care which trail we took - all we knew was that we wanted THE BEST VIEW.
Figuring out our path as we went (typical me), we got some exercise along the trails, met some nice people, petted some sweet puppies and splashed in the muddy water puddles that lead to the canyon.
The closer we got to the Canyon, the more scenic the hike became.
It also had more ups and downs, lefts and rights the deeper we went along the trail.
At one point, we seemed to reach the end.
There was a beautiful red rock canyon dead end with people oohing, ahhing & taking pictures in front of it.
Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful.
But from the stories I’d heard, I was expecting…more.
I thought to myself: Is this it? Have we reached the end?
Were we turned around on the trail?
Did we miss the peak view?
Is THIS actually the peak view?!
I hoped there was more, so we re-routed to the next trail over.
And surely enough……we came to it.
Georgia’s little Grand Canyon.
Now THIS is what we came to see!
It was beautiful like the other red rock at the dead end..…just MORE-SO.
It was bigger.
It was taller.
It was encompassing on all sides, not just one.
You could do more than just look at it.
You could climb it.
Meditate on it.
Discover the different nooks and crannies.
There was beauty at every angle.
It was robust yet calming.
This time, there was no question that we had reached our destination.
This is MORE.
It was well worth the journey to get there.
I didn’t need to see any more of the smaller canyon views after that.
We found the peak view and we were fueled from it!
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The difference between these two beautiful views reminded me of 2 things:
First, my mind went to relationships and the journey of deciding whether or not to marry someone.
The first view is when you’re dating someone and you think…Wow, this is beautiful. I definitely see beauty here.
…But from the stories, sermons, advice, reviews I’ve heard about what marriage is meant to be, I’m not quite sure this it?!
It’s beautiful, yes. I just thought there might be more.
…Don't lay your picnic blanket down yet - Keep walking.
Because there is more and it’s just ONE TRAIL OVER.
My point: Don’t settle for a glimpse of beautiful when there’s an all-encompassing beautiful right around the corner.
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Then, I thought about the 2 views again.
This time comparing them to human love vs God’s love.
Like I said, the first view WAS beautiful.
And like human love, it gives us a glimpse of a greater love, a more encompassing love.
I’m thankful for that first view because it made us desire for MORE of that beauty.
After seeing it, we were not gonna stop until we found the PEAK view that we came for!
And while human love is a beautiful example or glimpse of God’s love…
God’s love encompasses us on all sides. And it’s just…more.
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