“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”                                                     II Corinthians 4:17-18

Staring down from the balcony, I watched the water ebb and flow: the sand shifting with each new mingling with the water. Most of the time the land form changed ever so slightly with the stirring of the water, but occasionally a large wave or more powerful rush of water caused more of a visual, structural difference. 

Walking along the shoreline, I watched children creating sand structures that were safely positioned away from the water’s edge only later to watch them be chiseled away by the rising tide, many times to the dismay of the young architects. As I carefully made my way back to where I started after an evening walk, I found it difficult to locate landmarks that were once clearly visible because of the changing landscape at night fall. 

I love the beach. It is never the same close up. The landscape is constantly changing. Yet when I fix my eyes on the distant horizon, it is strangely familiar, predicable, calming – the same. 

The landscape of our lives changes similar to those sand shifts. Most of the time, the changes in our lives happen ever so slowly, gently. Shifting into new forms. Taking on a new shape. It is pleasant, normal. At other times, out of nowhere comes the big wave that washes away part of carefully planned and created sand castle. Sometimes, worse – it washes out the whole thing. Our day … week … year … life becomes unrecognizable. 

Yet if we look past the waves to the horizon we are filled with peace and hope – reminded of what we are striving for in this unpredictable world. 

Got problems? We all do. 

Some problems we see coming as they creep up like the slow rise of the evening tide toward our toes. Others hit us when we least expect it.

Remember no matter how big or small your problems are today, they are only temporary. Fix your heart on what is beyond the horizon, our unseen eternal glory. That, my friend, will never change.