Providence

I know, two posts in one day! It's like the bogo sales at payless! I couldn't resist though. Today as we traveled to Richmond to eat lunch with my father we noticed this Blue Heron in the parking lot of one of the shopping centers off of route 1 in Hanover. What is so funny about this is that for the last four years I have lived on the eastern shore of Maryland, within a 20 minute drive of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I have often driven out to Blackwater to try to capture one of these majestic birds on film so that I may use it as a reference in some of my artwork. After dozens of attempts I could never get close enough to one to warrant a good picture.

Now I have moved to southern Virginia, and am in a busy suburb of the city of Richmond, and this bird, so elusive in Maryland, walks right up to my van! I didn't even need the zoom feature on my digital camera. The irony struck me as profoundly humorous, but more than that, I think God was trying to prove a point to me. My best efforts could not get me close enough to this Heron. I tried so often, waited long periods of time, and exerted a lot of patience, and never did I get the picture I wanted. But when I least expected it, outside of my own doing, God provides the opportunity for a picture. I can't help but think of God's providence in all things.

We often try to force opportunities. We seek to do things "our way" and we get frustrated when we fail. Whether it be something as trivial as trying to get a picture of a bird or as important as receiving salvation, we receive the best outcome when we trust in God's timing and in God's way.

I can't wait to see what God provides next., and to all you driving in the northern Richmond area, watch out for herons!