July times

Sitting on my desk is a piece of Lava Rock that I picked up on a hike across a lava flow near Split Rock Lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior. Before this, I never thought about how volcanos helped to build the Great Lakes. Volcanos erupting are not usually considered a great thing to happen. They can kill thousands of people, damage property, and even change the climate.

Our lives have volcanos erupting from time to time. The doctor says it’s cancer, your spouse says it’s over, your bank says it’s empty, there are thousands more to be named. Some of these volcanos of life are big and some are small, but all of them are uncomfortable to endure.

Back to my walk across the lava flow on a sunny day by Split Rock Lighthouse. I was looking for colorful stones called Agates. Agates form in air bubbles in the lava. As the Lava cools water and minerals fill the bubbles and crystalize forming a very shiny smooth stone. I wanted to collect a few of them. Not only did I find some agates, but I also found some iron ore and some copper ore. Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are filled with iron and copper mines; much of the area was settled because of mining.

Many wonderful things come up with the lava during eruptions, iron, copper, tin, gold, diamonds, and lots of pretty rocks. While life’s volcanos bring pain and difficulty they also bring valuable things to our lives. It could be a life lesson, a new friend, a deeper faith, a new outlook on life, and many other things. Some of these we can walk along the lava of life and find for ourselves, for other we may need help.

Here in the north-woods people worked together in iron and copper mines to dig the valuable ore from the lava that brought it to the surface. Some of the ore required digging deep into the ground to reveal it. It was not easy work, but they got it done.

Romans 8:28 says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This does not mean that the volcanos of life are going to feel good or their pain go away. What it means is that along with the horrible and destructive lava, valuable things have come as well. Gems of diamonds, agates, gold, iron, copper and tin are all to be found in the volcano’s flow.

Some of these gems are on the surface and easy to find on your own, while others will require some help. This is one of the reasons I believe every Christian should have a church home, a church family. Each of us will have days when the lava of life is to much for us and we will need someone else to dig us out. There will be days when together we will find diamonds of faith only because we dig for them together.

When we find the gems in the midst of the lava we need to remember they are a gift of God and thank Him for those little wonders. James 1:17  reminds us; “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

The volcanos of life will come. What will we have when they are done? Hot lava, and destruction? Or will we find diamonds, gold, copper, iron tin and even agates. Anyone can find lava, but if you want the good stuff you will have to look for it, dig for it, stop and pick it up.


Times June

You would not know it to look outside today with the ground wet by two days of light rain, but most of our country is in a horrible drought. In our greatest food producing state, California, things are getting dangerous. Reservoirs once filled with what seemed an endless supply of water are already dry or will be soon. Farmers have not planted crops because they know they will not have the water needed to bring them to harvest. In the cattle states like Texas ranchers have sold their herds and shut down because there is not enough water to keep the herd alive. You would be a rich person if you could have figured out that people would be paying $2.00 for a bottle of water to drink.

Interestingly, I read in one of my backcountry hiking books a report that said most people in the USA live in a constant state of dehydration. People just do not drink enough water so their body can function correctly. Dehydration affects your kidney function, muscle function, your cognitive abilities, and even your ability to fight off diseases.

 All this got me to thinking about how many people live in a spiritual state of dehydration? How many would describe their spiritual life as dry, lacking energy and empty. This spiritual dehydration also affects the rest of our life, just as physical dehydration does.

Jerimiah 17:7&8 says “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He 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.”

Psalms 1:1-3 says “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”  

The spiritually dehydrated person’s life is filled with fear during difficult times, withered and dry leaves as well as a lack of fruitfulness. For the spiritually dehydrated life does not feel prosperous, like its going somewhere; life feels like a struggle to stay alive.

I think we all feel spiritually dehydrated at times. If we take time to reflect on the passages from Jeremiah and Psalms we find that we are not putting our confidence or trust in God or His Word. That’s not something to beat yourself up about but is something you want to change. It is time to refocus our trust in the Lord and His word.