Loving Barriers

As my husband and I recently traversed through the barren landscape of western Iowa, Kansas and Eastern Colorado, en route to our kids in the Denver area, we were struck anew at the lovely and at times, forelorn views before and around us. We could not help notice, that at times, we observed miles and miles of pine trees, planted in a line, maybe a quarter of a mile or so from the road. A snow fence of sorts, we concluded, something to keep the snow from piling up on the US highway upon which we were navigating.

And as I pondered the scene before me and the likely purpose for this stiking line of pines to exist, I had to think of another barrier that has been placed in our own spiritual lives. I am referencing the various barriers that God's Word lays out. Verses that instruct us to flee idolotry, abstain from the very appearance of evil, to beware of adulterers and slanderers, to resist temptation and the devil. These verses provide loving barriers to keep the unwelcome drifts of sin from piling up on our pathway of life. They provide a protective force, when paired with the strength of God's grace, to help keep our path clear and clean. Only by the grace of God.

So thank you, Lord, for the beauty we could behold as we traveled west and for the reminder you provided, to help us navigate as we travel to eternal rest.