It’s Good Friday. The evening before, we went to Wpg to pick up our daughter for the Easter weekend. We saw at least 3 snow owls along hwy 23 on the way in. So with both my wife, Arlene, and I off today, we thought we’d head back out there and see if we could find them again. 
Not so much. But I did take a picture of a lone tree along the road. I’ve always been intrigued by photos I’ve seen like this. Full grown tree against the stark surroundings that make up a prairie winter.

I’ve often wondered why these trees have been left alone while others were cleared to make way for crops. Markers? Identifiers? Whatever the reason, I’m glad they’re there. They help break up the monotony of prairie roads, especially in winter when there are no crops to add some color to the drive.

This weekend in particular, it reminds me of a single wooden cross from which hung our gift from God. His son. It reminds me that He took on all my impurities, all the things that would keep me from an eternity in God’s Kingdom and covered them up with His blood. It reminds me I still have stains, but with the death and most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus, those stains can’t be seen by a Holy God. That my friends is an unimaginable gift. God knew it would be impossible for me to “clean up my act” enough to be worthy. So His son did it for me. It’s a debt I can never repay. I can accept it and do my best to honour that action. That’s the good news. All I have to do is accept that gift. I don’t have to earn enough points to qualify. It’s not about following a list of rules. Just accept the grace given to me by Christ. Honour that grace by serving those around me as best I can.

I’ve found that too often the general public believes that I have to live this “perfect” life once I’ve accepted God’s gift. To my knowledge there was only one that was perfect. And He sacrificed His life in order for me to join Him, from wherever I was in my journey.
I was given some advice a long time ago, that others would try to hold me to their standards. That I would never be able to justify all my actions to others. I was advised that what goes on in my life is between me and God. Just be sure to be honest about it. Keep it real. It was good advice for me. 

There will still be struggles along the way. Loving your enemies is not an easy task for me. 
One of my biggest pet peeves is being accused of something I didn’t do. Reading through the Gospels account of Christ’s trial and crucifixion certainly provides an example for not lashing out. My situations pale in comparison.
There’s hope in knowing there’s a living God that still has control of this crazy world we live in. For that, I am truly thankful. So maybe these lone trees are there for a reason. Reminders…