SUNBEAM MOMENTS

On a recent hike up Meek’s Mountain, I was pleasantly surprised to come upon these sunbeams lighting my path ahead! I regarded the scene as holy, and several familiar Bible verses came to mind…

Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

You show me the path of life.
    In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

I thought about how lovely it would be to have sunbeams lighting our way, guiding our path each day. To have the visible assurance that we are headed in the right direction, that God’s presence goes with us, that God is pleased to lead the way. When I reached the sunbeams, I paused to center myself in the sacredness of the moment, in the quiet joy of feeling immersed in God’s presence on this holy ground. And as I then resumed my hike, I turned to look back at the scene, longing to take it in one more time…

I couldn’t see the sunbeams.

The beams of light reflected in the mist were only visible from my earlier perspective on the path. Had I been hiking from the opposite direction, I could have been standing in a “sunbeam blessing” yet never have known. So much of how we see life depends on our viewpoint, our perspective.

An integral part of our faithful journey is to recognize that there is always more to life “than meets the eye.” Every moment might be a holy one, every step a guided one. Maybe the place we are standing on is holy ground, even if we aren’t quite positioned to see the sunbeams. This is the gift and essence of our faith–the peace and hope we can have in this present moment–as we trust that one day, our new perspective will reveal the blessing held within it.

Photos by Karen
All verses are NRSVUE, found at https://www.biblegateway.com/