True Horizon

We vacation each year on a very secluded and sparsely populated section of the Gulf Coast, about 25 miles down a long, narrow peninsula, far away from everything.  We don’t mind sacrificing the long drive to civilization for the pure, unobstructed views up and down the beach and out into the horizon. 

I’ve always been so fascinated by the mystery of the horizon.  As my father (a former seaman) has explained to me over the years, the “true horizon” is the actual point on the line at which you can no longer distinguish the earth from the sky.  On most days, if you fix your eye on the clearest, sharpest part of the line, you will see a beautiful halo effect coming out from it.  Where the halo is, the "true" horizon is. 

On our last trip, with an impending tropical storm out further in the Gulf, we experienced very high winds and therefore, very rough water and high waves.  I was fascinated to observe that the true horizon never disappeared – halo and all.  It was right there, amidst the huge waves, just as it was on the previous days when the ocean was as smooth as a big sheet of glass.  Regardless of the circumstances of the weather or waves, that mysterious, magical line was there and visible.  And beautiful.

As I thought about it, I realized that the true horizon line at which Earth meets Heaven is in me, too.  Some days, I'm the trusting, loving smooth-as-glass girl.  And on others, I am one scary raging rough-water lady.  But that place where I let go and disappear into Him is always beautiful.    

  

You see, if we really believe what we say we believe  as Christ followers, then we become that place where Earth meets Heaven because His spirit is in us.  We are a place at which the beauty of His Creation disappears into the deeper and eternal beauty of Heaven.

The place where the truth of hope and healing found in the Lord heals the brokenhearted.     

The place where the richest, most unexpected blessings are found in the midst of the deepest of suffering.  

The place where the angels become our dance partners as we celebrate His blessings, presence and love. 

The place where the peace that passes all understanding miraculously overtakes the things of this earthly life that seem impossible to bear.   

The place where I end and where He begins.