I sometimes feel that mere words cannot adequately express my deep love for Honey Lake Plantation. To me this land is pristine and pure and truly one of God’s greatest masterpieces. I used to spend time on a treadmill to get in my four miles per day, but now I love to spend that time traversing Honey Lake Road at the very break of day.
Hundreds of bluebird houses line Honey Lake road and these gorgeous little birds welcome me daily from perches atop their green and white homes. So do colorful woodpeckers flicking their way from tree to tree. I’m also greeted by sounds coming from our plantation chicken pen, namely our roosters crowing their celebration of another glorious sunrise. I smile as a big tom turkey, (not to be outdone), gobbles his raucous response from his perch located in a cypress pond just down the hill. Bobwhite quail can be heard whistling from virtually every direction as they turn up the heat in their search for a mate as the pairing up process is now hitting full swing.
My favorite place is what I refer to as “the canopy”. It is a stand of Spanish moss draped oak and cypress trees that line both sides of the road for several hundred yards and the tree limbs actually span the road forming a tunnel. On one side of the road is a lush green pasture with grazing Tennessee Walking horses behind a black boarded fence and on the other lies magnificent azure blue Honey Lake which on most mornings is steaming its mysterious looking wispy mist like a steaming hot cup of coffee.
As I make my way down the road several wood ducks sound their eerie cries as they blast off like miniature rockets making the lumbering blue herons, (who don’t care for my presence either), seem all the more slow as they clumsily take off with their huge flapping wings anxious to reach gliding height where they can soar with ease and honk at my intrusion. Black fox squirrels with white noses sit on the fences watching me with curiosity and cat squirrels run across the canopy barking like nervous little obnoxious mutts. If I’m lucky I’ll spot a whitetail deer or two feeding in the alfalfa field before they bed down for the day.
I smile and thank God for blessing this land and for blessing me by allowing me to enjoy this land’s peaceful serenity with Him. I know it’s a special place for God, and I know I don’t deserve being a part of Honey lake or His love for me. I can feel His Holy presence walking right along with me and answering my prayers by offering mental suggestions to me as I plan my day. Each and every morning I thank Him profusely for allowing me to share in this land with Him and I hope to please Him.
All is bliss…
Well maybe not. As I walk along I see the side of the road strewn with the previous night’s debris consisting of beer cans, pieces of paper, plastic bags, McDonald’s French fries and burger boxes, bottles and other litter. There are only a handful of neighbors that live on Honey Lake road, and traffic is minimal. I know who is littering this beautiful land day in and day out; the question is why would they do such a thing? Why would anyone deliberately mar this beauty with the ugliness of our society? We pick it up each day only to be greeted by another load tomorrow.
You would think I would get used to it, but I never do. Every day I’m angry.
Hmmm… I think this might be how God views sin. Here He has created this beautiful blue marble that we call earth and He hung it in a grand universe dazzling everyone who cares to look skyward and who dares to actually think. He created pure water, lush green fields, majestic towering trees, sparkling nights and sunny days, pristine lakes and ponds, fish, birds, insects, and animals of every description and us.
And what do we do? We disrespect his creation with soiling, polluting, defiling, and corrupting sin every day just like clockwork, (just like the disrespectful litterbug slobs who pollute Honey Lake road everyday).
Lest you think God is just some kindly old “Santa Claus in the sky” who smiles down on sin (like some ultra-liberal denominations have perverted His word to imply), think again…He knows who the sinners are and He ain’t smiling…
Thanks be to Jesus Christ for grace or we would all be hopelessly doomed! In honor of His sacrifice on our behalves please join me in making a concerted effort to eliminate sin, (and littering), from your life won’t you?
Psalm 7:11
…God is angry with the wicked every day.