Written in My Youth

HE IS NEAR

The sun still shines here, though not quite as bright as before. Outside the wind sweeps briskly across the ground creating a tiny multi-colored whirlwind from the freshly fallen leaves. The chill in the air adds to the freshness that makes Autumn sweet. The wind has that bite in it that makes campfires cozy and long walks better in two's. God is painting a spectacular picture and the Earth is His canvas. We are the fortunate ones who get to experience its splendor.

The rain came yesterday pounding a rhythmic beat on the hard pavement. Small rivers rushed down the road until they disappeared in miniature waterfalls underground. Before too long the rain stopped and things dried and returned to normal. Still, we saw God in the rain, he touched us in the drops and kissed us with the Sun.

God blesses us in so many ways. Sometimes those blessings come to us in ways to which we are blind. An occasional loneliness can provoke enough of a need that we turn to God and pray for companionship, while not realizing that through our prayer and God's tender fellowship, we have received the most glorious companionship ever imagined.

"Come near to God, and He will come near to you."

Tom Shuff (written sometime in the mid-eighties)

Whew. I think this may be the first time this has ever been seen by anyone other than a few close friends. In the process of cleaning out the basement, I found a few notebooks of this stuff. I don't know how many people are still stopping by my blog, but it is my hope that these few thoughts expressed so long ago may be a momentary bright spot in someone's day. If nothing else, feel free to laugh at the author. He doesn't really mind.

Tom