Invisible Paths

Invisible Paths

Having been away for a few days and returning home, the first thing I heard as I awoke were the geese flying in for the winter.  To be honest, I had been expecting it to of happened during August, but it has been such a warm and dry summer, September arrived and I still hadn't heard them.  To me they herald in the autumn season, making their entrance known to every one that they have arrived, as they honk and squawk to one another while flying.  They are late this year as its now mid September, nevertheless, I love the sound they make.

Lying in bed last night during one of those sleepless nights when sleep seems far away, I could hear different flocks arriving.  The moon was full and bright, hanging in a cloudless sky, lighting their way through the darkness to "The Haven", a bird sanctuary not too far from here on the coast.  Yet even when it is cloudy and dark, they still know the way to go, shown to them by their parents.

It got me thinking though as I was listening to the geese, about those invisible paths that God has put in place for the animals, fish, birds and ourselves to find.  We can't see them, but they are there none the less.  For nature it is important as it means food or safety through the darker days of winter or to sunnier climes to breed.

For us too, there is an invisible pathway that God has signposted for us to find, a spiritual one.  He has put it there in the hopes of us using our free will to walk it together with Him, after asking Him to forgive us.  I found that pathway many years ago when I was a child, marked with a cross.  It is a cross on which Jesus died for me and taking my place and the death that I really I deserved.  It stands on a small hill and behind set into that hill, you can still see the trail.  It's not always clear as you travel it, but Jesus knows the way and with Him you can't get lost unless you try to go it alone without Him.  The pathway is winding, sometimes difficult, painful, emotional, but so rewarding if we finish the journey with Him and don't give up.  It eventually leads to the heavenly Jerusalem in heaven, where one day we will reign with Him.  I look forward to that day.

"Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew Ch. 7 v. 13.

The days are shorter now and the sun's strength is diminishing, yet it is still warm and sunny enough to don T-shirts and soak up the sun's rays.

I always love walking by the sea.   Despite a long and hot summer, I missed much of it as I was working in London with the drama.  I often look for those shells or pieces of tumbled sea glass that get washed up by the tide, delighted if I find something special like a piece of driftwood, or a glass bottle top smoothed by the timeless rhythm of the waves.

The photos are of the beach just 4 miles from where I live.  Here it is warm, sunny and tranquil with the Isle of Wight in the distance.  I guess the storms and gales will soon begin again, but eventually summer will come round once more and I look forward to it.