Hi Faith Family,
Praying you are healthy and in good spirits today,
Hope springs eternal. Have you been to any good hot springs recently? Idaho has 232 known hot springs—most dense concentration of any state. If you want to try one, check out the site: http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/Idaho.asp. If you are in a state other than Idaho, click the “US Hot springs” at the top of the page to research hot springs in your state.
After church this past Sunday, we had a church outing to Kirkham hot springs outside of Lowman, Idaho. 9 cars made the 2-hour trip up to the hot springs. It was a fun afternoon filled with picnicking, visiting, and relaxing time in the natural, unimproved pools of water. This web page has several pictures from our trip.
Spiritual lessons blossom on every part of the trip. The Banks to Lowman highway is amazing, filled with whitewater, deep canyons, and amazing scenery. It is a tremendous experience of God’s creation.
The springs are the best part. The unending flow of hot springs is amazing, beautiful, mystical, and enjoyable for 3-year-old Laura to those with a few grey hairs. There is something special about the water continuing to flow over the mighty Idahoan volcanic rock. Overflowing.
It’s how David viewed his life: overflowing with God’s blessing. Would you view your life that way if you were David? Consider all he went through: high expectations from youth, war trauma many times over, loss of biological children, humiliation of loss of kingship, unfulfilled desire for construction of the temple. He could have viewed his life as unrequited. But instead, he saw it as if it were the hot springs of Kirkham, overflowing into the south fork of the Payette River. David was inspired to write:
“My cup overflows.”
Perhaps there is a lesson and a half we can take to heart through these words. The lesson centers on the fact that we, too have lives overflowing with God’s blessings. God has given each of us what we need, and more. God has taken our sinfulness, taken the punishment, and released us from a hopeless future. You are forgiven. You are God’s child who loves you and cares for you, body and soul. Your cup, my dear sister—my dear brother, overflows.
The ½ lesson is for us to call God’s blessings to mind when we are tempted to focus on all the stuff we don’t have, all the difficulties we have gone through, or all the tough times in our rear-view mirror or windshield of life. God has brought you this far, and he will never leave you or forsake you. God bless you today in a significant way. Oh, and if you need someone to go with you to some hot springs, by all means, give me a call.
Prayer idea: Say a special prayer thanking God for physical and spiritual blessings you treasure the most. Blessing on your week!