Big Sky... Little Town

Lord how I miss home. The beautiful, infinite sky of Texas. The brightness of the stars that seem to go on forever and ever. Across this same expanse I have witnessed some of the most breath taking arrays of lightning slowly crackling in one area while just across the way they w were striking down towards the ground as if the soul source of it's existence lies within the soil of the earth. You may say, "I have experienced these events or similar in my life as well, so what's so special about the sky in Texas?" I am certainly not attempting to minimize your memories, but the sky in the Lone Star State is, well as the old adage goes, ' Bigger in Texas. ' Northeast Texas, particularly Paris in Lamar county, where if you look out into the great expanse of sky above and earth below you will not see an end. The lands being flat makes for a cinematic experience that I can only equate to the viewing of a production seen on an IMAX screen while sitting in the middle row of the theater. It is something to see. In Paris, we have a claim to fame as well. The replica of the Eiffel tower spotlighted in my post can be found in this rural town. The size has been scaled down quite a bit, but if you'll notice in the picture, you will see the red Cowboy hat placed prominently on the top of this tower. That is more than just a hat. To me, it is a sign of pride, a stamp of approval if you will, a realization to the locals that no matter how far out you are if you take a look across that giant expanse of Sky and across the flat lay of the land you can see a red Cowboy Hat on top of a tower that states with pride, "No matter how hard times get, no matter where we end up in this life, or what state we currently reside, when the dust from the fields settle and the tractors stop rolling, and the cows are bedded down for the night, there is one solid that remains. That is when we see our tower, you know the one with the red Cowboy hat on top, we know God gave us that large sky in Texas to lead the locals back home. It doesn't matter how small you're town is when the sky is never ending.

Stone By Stone

Stone after stone, block upon block we build our walls. Very labor intensive making sure that all materials are positioned perfectly, sealed, and set just right. We cannot allow seepage from the outside. All the sealant must set completely so outside elements cannot damage what's inside. These steps are necessary if we were to build foundation or erect a wall, but in order to establish a relationship with God this is not a process we should use. Allow me to explain.

From birth forward, we as humans, are taught that in order to leave a legacy we must secure our standing in Society. If we are to accomplish this task then we will have to attain the standards which have been set forth and established as the "norm"  by the society in which we live, would you agree?
 

The path taken by most to climb the ladder is success, in my opinion, generally follows this progression.

 

   1.  Get an education/Obtain a degree.
 

   2.  Start a career, preferably involving what you went to school for.

   3.  Get married/start a family.

   4.  Buy a house
.

   5. Have children, get a couple of pets and the white picket fence
.

"Voila!" You have managed to build the perfect life according to the expectations placed on you by your peers. What now?

Successfully we have built our lives around all these material things, yet we are still lacking. The size of our homes, the make and model of the car we own, the financial gains we have made, and that all important place in society we have worked so hard to establish still does not fill that longing in our spirit. We have, with precision, placed those blocks and stones very securely in place so as to build our foundations, while at the same time we have not allowed room in our lives for Jesus. Somewhere along the way we have lost sight of what really matters.
 

All of these material things I speak of are important in order for us to thrive in a society that has placed a value on everything including people. We, however, should not allow our financial portfolio to define us as human beings. Instead, we should start putting stock into what God has placed inside of each one of us; His love, grace, and mercy. These are so much greater than what we have or can attain on this earth. Our foundation, eternal foundation, comes from within and has been with each of us from the point of our creation. When our Heavenly Father breathed life into our bodies, at the same time, we were filled with the eternal Hope of a life with Him. When we leave this world behind, the size of our home, the car we drove, nor the amount of money we were able to acquire will not go with us into the ever after. So, instead of placing blocks made of worldly value, lets start from the foundation we have inside. Don't allow your lifestyle to hinder your growth eternal.