By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This little creek runs through the woods not terribly far from where my wife grew up.  Although it cuts through the pines for quite a distance, it never gets much wider than a little stream.  And, as you can see from the picture, it can be quite murky and rather nasty looking.  It’s just a dirty little creek in the woods.  It has no significance whatsoever.  Or does it?

For the occasional fox or deer that fill those woods, it provides a cool drink.  For the wild hog, it provides a muddy place to “root.”  For the bob cat or, yes, the rare black bear that comes roaming through, it provides a place to play and relax a bit.  For the hawks and many other birds, it provides a nice place for bathing and feather washing.

That dirty old neglected and overlooked stream to us is just the opposite for the forest creatures.  God provides.

As we wrap up yet another year and look forward to the next one, should the Good Lord see fit to bring it, I pray that you will remember those two words in that very simple phrase — “God provides.”

As murky, ugly, and cold as 2020 was for so many, it also provided the necessary means to continue on, to provide for our family, to meet our needs.  All because God provides.

Ever doubt those two words?  I know a place in the woods where you can take a stroll, see a dirty stream, and prayerfully change your mind.

Just a thought.