One day, I hope each and every one of you can drive down the road on which I live. If my heart could describe a paradise, it would be this road in the glory of summery spring. I’ll try to paint a picture for you. Lining our small, secluded private road are trees—trees that reach to the skies with moss covering their trunks. At their base, on one side is a creek; the other side that swirling water of the creek, progresses into a waterfall. Moss covered rocks, delicate to monstrous trees—birds, crickets and frogs croaking creating a symphony of your senses—the sight it indescribable. In all honesty it is so beautiful. However, while all of this is magnificent in its beauty; what I love so much about our private drive leading up to our house, are the daisies standing on the side of the road.
On both sides of the road, I kid you not; hundreds of daisies stand bunched together in a sea of white and sunny yellow. They so much overcrowd the sides of the road that it is almost as if they are reaching out to touch you as you walk or drive by. The majesty of daisies is amazing because you can almost hear them singing. While they merely reach up to your knee in height, these tiny beauties complete the masterpiece painting of my private road. I could sit and stare forever at the wonder of it all. I feel as though my heart could stay there forever.
On our way
to church one morning, I was describing to my family how much I loved the
growing daisies, and how I was glad our new neighbors moved in at just the
right time—the daisies are blooming! To
my great dismay, quite literally, simply a few hours later, when my family was
driving home from church that sunny morning—I witnessed a terrible tragedy. As we drove up the road, I began to notice
branches and leaves scattered over the road; and as we got closer my heart
stopped. The daisies were being mowed
down by the very neighbors I was happy for just hours earlier.
I almost
got out of my car to politely (while internally screaming) and asked them if
they disliked daisies. I could have
cried. The beauty in which I thought my
heart could behold for the rest of my days were being torn down; only to remain
flattened grass and a sprinkling of left over daises that sit upon the
hill. I could almost imagine the daisies
crying the next morning on my way to school.
Surely it was merely the morning mist that sat upon their petals; but it
may as well have been tears. I felt as
if my paradise was gone until next spring came to bloom.
This may
sound silly, and a bit overdramatized, and who knows, it may be. But that is how I saw it. I am sentimental and a romantic—I see my life
through the eyes of my heart. To me,
everything is beautiful. And my private
road appealed so much to my poetic sensibilities that my heart grew to love it
as a paradise. And not until my
neighbors cut down the daisies did I realize, where I live isn’t a
paradise. While I believe God designed
it with us on His heart, the woven grasses, trees and leaves aren’t the
paradise—these will fade. And while my
heart tries to forgive my new neighbors; in a way I want to thank them.
Like
almost everything in life, the dream of a drive I get to witness everyday as I
come home is a reflection. A reflection
of a bigger picture. A psychologist once
said that Micro-systems reflect Macro-systems.
Or in other words, small things always reflect something bigger. And that is what I am learning through the
pushing of my daisies (pun intended); my heart can see that it longs for a
bigger masterpiece just as C.S. Lewis once wrote in his book, Mere Christianity, “If I find myself a
desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable
explanation is that I was made for another world.” The
beauty of the world and surrounding galaxies are almost too much for my heart
to handle. Oh, the beauty that surrounds
me. But this Micro-system world is reflecting
a bigger Macro-system.
I love my
sea of daisies, but it will not last: seasons change, cold winter blows
through, neighbors come with mowers; something will come to make my heart see—this
world and I were not meant to be. I have
somewhere I am heading toward. A place
where the bird’s songs will join with angels’ singing; golden sun will become
the face of my Savior. The smile of the
King will shine upon me, the sound of rushing water makes me clean. The tall trees and their harmony, will join
with Heaven’s melody. Sweeter honey for
my soul, greener grass and the reddest of rose, sparkling white and shimmering
gold—The Place my spirit longs for.
Heaven.
Oh, just
the name makes my heart glow and my spirit flutter. It has taken me hours to write this, because
each time I think about writing this to you; I end up on my knees. Thanking my Savior and begging please, Jesus,
take us Home. I love thinking about the
Day in which the body of Christ stands as one at the feet of His throne. No longer will we have to imagine what His
face looks like; for He is smiling right at us.
He will
take us by the hands and lead us through the private drive He has prepared for
us. His heart is glowing upon us,
warming our hearts as the sun had done on earth; with just His touch, He
settles our restless spirits. With each
step, our blindness is clearing, ever revealing brilliant colors we hadn’t
noticed before. We can hear the words to
the chirp of birds and hear the praise in the breeze we’ve felt. All of it becoming clear: every sense alive.
He leads
us through His majesty, and all at once, we gather around Him as one: clothed
in sparkling white, with a drop of sunshine glowing from within us; golden,
reflecting the Son. We huddle closer to
one another, with our faces turned upward, and our beings reaching out. Reaching out as one, in our new way to praise,
for we are in His presense. And clothed
as daisies, in sparkling white. But
unlike any other daisies, we will no longer pass and fade for we are staring
into Eternity’s face and we are real.
Finally free, and alive to feel that we have reached the place in which
our hearts were destined:
Home.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” - Revelation 19:7
“Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today
you will be with Me in paradise.” -
Luke 23:43
