Appearances Can Be Deceiving

For the longest time, unknown to me, my kids thought that once upon a time, I was a flower child... a "hippie". This is because they saw some old photos of my college days, and I had long straight hair, played the guitar, and wore paisley clothing. I was not a hippie; sometimes I even curled my hair. I became aware of this tidbit of information when I began teaching at the middle school two of my daughters had previously attended. One day at the lunch table, one of the other teachers said to me... "So, you were a hippie!" Seems that they had done a unit in one of their classes about drug abuse, and college students of the 70's ... ahhh, hippies... were apparently 'high'-lighted as the main event. Pictures in their text book showed students, sitting on the college greens, playing guitars, with their long hair and paisley clothing, and they deduced, incorrectly, "Hey! My mom was a hippie!"

I read an article today on the Follow the Rabbi website about the flood plain of the Jordan River during the period of time concurrent with the Book of Genesis. The article explains that the Jordan River cuts through the Great Rift Valley, where the soil is the sediment of an ancient sea that won't sustain vegetation and absorbs little water. Only the soil right along the river bank soil is suitable for vegetation, and a lush growth (the thickets of the Jordan (Zech. 11:3; Jer. 49:19) is found there, but doesn't extend much beyond the water. For this reason, an area that appears from a distance to be fertile is actually barren. With the exception of a few oases and the river bank, the plain wouldn't have been suitable for agriculture. From a distance, however, the area looked lush and well-watered (Gen. 13:10).

The article points out that when Abraham and his nephew Lot decided to part ways, Lot chose the Jordan plain, because of its appearance from a distance. When it couldn't support his crops or his flocks, he moved to the oasis town of Sodom, which was notoriously evil. It was a bad choice, and he eventually lost everything because of it. Lot didn't ask God which he should choose, nor did he consider Abraham's welfare. He made his decision based upon what his eyes could see. Appearances can be deceiving.

I've made assumptions. I've acted and reacted at times based upon what I thought I knew. I have a pretty active imagination, and have formed opinions based upon perceptions. I have found, however, that when I make decisions based upon prayerful determination of God's direction, even when things don't seem to go well, I can trust that He guided me and will bring something good of it all. And when they do go well, He gets the credit, not me.

Peace. Out.

"Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come." (Jer.33:3 NLT)