Redwood view

Shirley and I just returned from a week in California.  We toured the coast from San Diego to San Francisco.  One of my goals was to see a real redwood tree along the way.  We found them in the Big Sur area on the coast about an hour south of Monterey.  We actually stayed in a state park where the redwoods were located.  They weren't the biggest...those are found a few hundred miles north.  But they were still huge and signs told us that they reached about 300 feet in height.  We truly felt like we were in the land of the giants there.  As I reflected on the greatness of these trees, which are impressive in every way...from size to age to overall beauty...I realized that a redwood may be best viewed and appreciated from the ground level (see attached picture).  We hiked a trail that climbed next to a grove of these huge trees and ultimately found ourselves looking at the peaks from eye level.  It was amazing to realize just how tall they were but I certainly was most impressed when I looked at the trees from the ground up rather that looking over at the same height as the tree tops.  This morning it occurred to me that Heaven may be something like the giant redwoods.  We view it now from ground level and are amazed to consider the awesome height and the grandeur that one day we hope to dwell in.  We picture God the father and the son on thrones in Heaven and those thoughts are also filled with a similar grandeur and awesomeness.  One day our trail will bring us eye level with Heaven and that grand place will become our dwelling place.  I'm sure we will be overwhelmed with the immediate presence of Heaven.  But perhaps as we view Heaven from the ground level we can have a healthy excitement and awe that resembles the sensation of staring up the vertical line of the great redwood, where the top seems to scrape Heaven's floor!

Psalm 48:2 

It is high and magnificent;
    the whole earth rejoices to see it!
Mount Zion, the holy mountain,
    is the city of the great King!

blessings,

Rob Smith