Hanging on for....

While enjoying a brisk walk through a park in Colorado last week, I could not help but do the "stop, aim and click thing". Yes, the beauty of my surroundings literally stopped me on my track (the side-walk) and inspired my desire to try to capture the loveliness I was beholding. The warm, radiant sunshine, the vibrant colored leaves, the breathtaking view of the mountains, standing in grandeur, sentinel-like, in the not so far-off distance.

But one pic I took, was not because of its beauty, but rather because I found it intriguing and then thought provoking. And thus.... this post

There was a small tree. Completely adorned with very dull and dead looking tan-colored leaves. It looked like the leaves should have fallen off days before, especially in light of the recent prevailing winds. But no, those leaves appeared to be hanging on...for dear life!

And that analogy made me ponder as I walked. Am I doing that? Hanging on? For dear life? Are you?

There are winds of confusion, winds of change, winds of deception and winds of potential despair, that are whipping all around us. As we navigate our life's track-way, are we holding on to our Jesus, for dear life?

Are we grasping His loving hand, letting Him help guide us and maneuver us along the way? Are we allowing Him to point out this and that, those places of beauty, those Words of Truth, those principles of clarity by which we find contentment, assurance and beautiful peace?

And to take this analogy one step further....

Are we "hanging on for DEAR life?"

I looked up the definition of dear. The description stated that it refers to that which is held with deep affection, that which is cherished.

So not only do we find Jesus, our vine, the trunk from which flows life itself, to be what we hold onto for continued strength and physical and spiritual existence (even thriving), but we hold onto Him who is the source of a type of life. One that is dear and cherished!

Life with Jesus is a good life. A very good life. It is a life of joy when the world around us is beset with despair. It is a like a ship of hope in a sea of fear. It is like a peak of love arising from a range of hate, or a blanket of warmth in a chilly place. It is like a plate of peace at a table of turmoil. A good life, a hope-filled life, a loving life, a warm life, a peaceful life....a DEAR life.

Hold on to Jesus, my friends.....

for "dear" life!