Rest

Last weekend (after writing my post on the craziness that is life in China), I had to make another Hong Kong run for my Visa. This time I opted to stay a few days and visit a retreat home that a few people had recommended. The timing could not have been more perfect. The retreat center was located on one of the outer islands of Hong Kong. A small but beautifully quaint island.

My first morning there, I went on a hike at their "Little Great Wall". The views, the greenery, the sounds and smells were truly breathtaking at times. I don't think I've ever needed to see green, to hear birds and the sound of the ocean, to smell fresh flowers, as much as I needed it then.

The following morning, my devotion was from the verse in Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He hath made everything beautiful in its time."

The beauty of this world does not compare with the glory of the next. It is, however, a foretaste, just as the peace I give here is a foretaste of My Kingdom. Enjoy the beauty here. It is My gift to you. I put the hunger for it in your heart, and it is I who fulfill that hunger.

Embrace the life to which I have called you. Do not question My purposes, for they are hidden from you for your good. Your walk will have many thorns- but always there will be beauty- and the thorns are protective against that which would destroy. O My child, let the beauty of My world open your eyes more eagerly to the beauty of My life, My kingdom. You have only begun to touch the hem of My garment. The edges of My ways.

(from Echoes of Eternity: Listening to the Father)