Destiny

Yesterday, while millions of people all over the world were celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, the largest earthquake to hit California in decades (7.2 magnitude) rocked our world. I may have been one of the only people in the region to miss it as I was using an air compressor at the exact moment the quake struck and I did not feel anything. Meanwhile, inside our home, my family was hiding under the furniture as our home shook for about thirty seconds.

As we were hiking near our home (see picture), we talked about the quake. There was also a quake on this same day over 2,000 years ago that caused the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb to fall down as though dead while the stone leading to the tomb rolled away.

The hiking trail split into two paths. The one to the west was named the rattlesnake trail and the one to the east was called the view trail. Ironically, the view trail we selected was filled with the one surprise we were wishing to avoid. As we were walking, my wife yelled out "snake"! I was leading the group with my sister's dog that we were watching and stopped suddenly. As I turned around to look for the snake, I could not find it. My wife had a look of fear as she pointed to me. The baby rattler was below me. I carefully took a few back-steps while guiding Daisy away from the snake and we watched it slowly move off of the trail.

My wife and son were not very excited about moving forward but decided to continue as long as I promised to pay more attention to the trail. I was so busy looking at the beauty all around me that I never noticed the snake. As we hiked, my son talked about my chances for survival had I been bitten. The baby rattlers are the most dangerous.

The thought that went into my head was not about dying but the Resurrection of Jesus. I thought about all the promises that God made. He made me a promise that He would come back again and that all of us would be waiting for Him. This is my destiny and your destiny.

Just like the choices we made yesterday to pick a trail, we have choices every day to follow Jesus or pick a different path. Earthquakes and snakes may get in our way but Jesus is on the trail with us and He will lead us to our ultimate destination which is to meet His Father in Heaven. Do not be afraid of your destiny. Choose the path that leads you to Jesus...