"He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul." Ps. 23:2-3a
In 2004 Charlie and I were led to tear down our sixty-five year old cottage. It needed a ton of work as it was sinking precariously into the ground. The reason we waited so long was the old building sat so beautifully close to the lake. If we rebuilt, the DNR said we had to move the new structure so that it measured seventy-five feet back from the lake in every direction. We finally decided to bite the bullet and began clearing the land. Down went the old beloved structure and up went the new. Our lakehouse now sits on the point with water on three sides. We never dreamed that we would have such great views because the trees had been so thick that we couldn't see what a beautiful point was behind us. Sometimes you can't see the lake for the trees, as the old saying doesn't go.
Remembering our great family times at the lake over the years, we decided to give the new site a name: Restoration Point after Psalm 23 - "He restores my soul." Since then, we have seen much soul restoration occur in lives during time spent at Restoration Point.
This Christmas, the first anniversary of Nick's homegoing, we all spent ten days together at the lakehouse. There were twenty - four of us. We were all together for the first time since December 23rd, 2010 with its sad events. Many prayers went up for our family and the Lord answered. We had an amazing time. There was even a three month old baby with us that our oldest son and his wife are in the process of adopting. Little Elizabeth flew with them all the way from Alaska.
After everyone left, I started praying about my own direction for 2012. 2011 was a year of grieving for me, but now I am impressed that it is time to begin moving on. In the quiet of "Restoration Point," I received some good words for 2012. I would like to share them with you because I think they show us all clearly how to move on to whatever God has for us in this new year. They are taken from the "Our Daily Bread Devotional Journal" for 2012.
"The word connected captures our contemporary experience of life. Many people rarely go anywhere without a cell phone, iPod, laptop, or pager. We have become accessible twenty-four hours a day. Some psychologists see this craving to stay connected as an addiction. Yet a growing number of people are deliberately limiting their use of technology. Being a "tech-no" is their way of preserving times of quiet, while limiting the flow of information into their lives.
Many followers of Christ find that a daily time of Bible reading and prayer is essential in their walk of faith. This "quiet time" is a disconnection from external distractions in order to connect with God. The "green pastures" and "still waters" of Psalm 23 are more than an idyllic country (lake?) scene. They speak of our communion with God whereby He restores our souls and leads us in His paths.
All of us can take time to meet with God, but do we? In Robert Foster's booklet "7 Minutes With God" he suggests a way to begin: Start with a brief prayer for guidance, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication for others. It's vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life." (David C. McCasland)
Once again, God has used "Restoration Point" to "point" me in the way He wants me to go in 2012. Wherever we are, we can make time to meet with God, knowing that we will experience soul restoration in His presence.
Happy 2012 to you all!
