By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

On the east coast of the state of Oregon, just off Highway 101, sits the town of Cannon Beach.  Just off the beach at Cannon Beach sits this very large formation called Haystack Rock.  It is a sight worthy of beholding.  Compare the size of the rock itself to those people walking the beach.  It is indeed majestic.

Haystack Rock got its name, of course, because of its shape.  The smaller rocks situated around it are known as “The Needles.”  Haystack Rock’s shape makes it readily recognizable in person or in movies and on film.

This made me think about the shape I’m in.  If I was given a name according to my shape, it might be “bowling ball Brad,” so thankfully, that’s not how I was named.  We may think about our shape.  Physically, some are in bad health and can no longer do as they once did.  Mentally, we may or may not be in a shape that is very healthy for a good lifestyle.  And then there’s our spiritual shape.  Has that ever crossed your mind?

What is my spiritual shape?  Am I a milk-bottle-fed baby?  Am I growing and feasting on the meat of His Word daily?  Am I downhearted and discouraged due to seemingly unanswered prayers?  Am I one to whom others look for encouragement and prayer support?  What is my shape?

The world will recognize us by our ‘shape.’  More times than not, they see us at our worst and not the best.  So that is the picture we portray, and we must be ever mindful of our shape because of that.

Standing there, beaten by the waves of life, unmovable and strong is the shape that encourages others — and ourselves.  In your week ahead, will the world see you and know the Godly shape you try to share daily, or will it be like looking for a needle in the haystack to see any good in us?  Stand strong, in whatever shape you are, and His love will see you through.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Hurry up and wait.  It can sometimes feel as if we spend half our lives waiting on something or someone.  We sit in traffic waiting to see if the red light will ever turn green.  We show up for an appointment only to wait in a room specifically designed for waiting, before we move on to another little room and wait some more.  We wait on the oven to heat up so we can cook dinner.  We wait on the car to cool off so we don’t blister our hands on the steering wheel.  We wait on things to happen.

You’ve probably, at one time or another, used the phrase, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” meaning, “Let’s wait and see how the situation turns out, and then we will make a decision on what to do.”

The particular bridge in my photo spans the Columbia River and connects the towns of Hood River, Oregon, and Bingen, Washington.  It is a toll bridge, meaning you wait in line, out on the bridge, to pay your toll.  And, this bridge also happens to be a drawbridge.  A drawbridge is designed to open up near the middle, raise up out of the way of passing boats, and allow them to pass.  But that means the vehicles attempting to cross the bridge must wait yet again.

Do you ever get tired of waiting on God?  Perhaps you’ve asked Him for answers to a question, for healing of yourself or a loved one, for guidance in upcoming circumstances, for wisdom to train your children, or for any number of things.  We ask.  Then we wait.

Why do you suppose He lets us sit and wait on Him?  Perhaps it isn’t that He is not ready to answer.  Perhaps it’s because we aren’t ready for the answer He will provide!  The more we wait on Him, sometimes the more our true desires, wants, and wishes may change.  That waiting period may also be God’s way of telling us to slow down, to not focus so much on the future and its problems, but focus on the time we are granted today.

Maybe you’ve anxiously awaited what this coming week will bring.  Wait on Him.  Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s today He wants us to focus on and experience.  Good things really can come to those who wait.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I am not a fan of heights.  I have climbed a few ladders, but I always find it easier to go up than to come back down.  As a young teen, I was on my grandparents’ roof many times cleaning off debris or taking care of some such item on my grandmother’s to-do list she mentally prepared before I arrived.  And yet, getting from the rooftop back onto the ladder was often the scariest part of the job.  I’ve climbed pecan trees in the fall to shake the big limbs, allowing the nuts to rain down.  Thankfully, this ‘nut’ never fell out!

Why do I tell you that?  Well, strangely enough, I find that very high places wherein I can be safely enclosed don’t bother me in the least.  I’ve been to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, a few times.  I can see for miles across Missouri in one direction or Illinois in the opposite direction just across the river below.  In this view, I was facing eastward, downtown St. Louis in the foreground.  

Just off to the left, you see Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Down that main street, about three-quarters of the way, one can spot Union Station which was once a grand hub for transportation.  And near the bottom right is the museum referred to as the “Old Courthouse,” where the first two trials of the Dred Scott case took place in 1847 and 1850, part of a decade-long fight for freedom by an enslaved man.

On the ground, I have walked to all of these places, and I have seen the architecture, the height, and the intrigue of each.  However, by looking down from above, I have a completely different vantage point and can see so much more.  Because I rose to heights that challenged my idea of safety, because I stepped out of my comfort zone, because I did something I sometimes fear, and allowed myself to be many feet into the air, I received the benefit of the fantastic views.  And, those views added to the knowledge I already had of each place.

Sometimes changing our physical perspective can positively influence our spiritual perspective.  By stepping out of our comfort zone and going someplace we might not normally go, we gain a new perspective on other God-loved people around us.  By visiting and ministering to those we normally haven’t, we can see beauty we’ve not seen in our regular routines.

I challenge you to channel the inner “Star Trek” in you.  This week, go somewhere you’ve never gone before, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually, and allow yourself to meet and see others from God’s glorious vantage point.  Once there, you’ll find it isn’t nearly as scary as you thought!

Just a thought.