Improving strength with Him is a must

Jim Honeycutt

Chaplain-Baptist Minister

As I packed my truck with supplies early that Friday morning, preparing to head out, a prayer for the journey with my wife Melissa to Big Bend was on my lips. I was asking the Lord to bring us to a place of rest where we could spend time before Him and with each other.

Removed from the constant influences of the electronic world, I anticipated golden silence from the voices of distraction. And in that place of solitude, I looked forward to the whispers of God’s voice being amplified upon my heart. I asked Him to remove the blinders that keep me from seeing Christ’s Glory around me. Imploring my Father to lead me to places that expand my understanding of Jesus’s Love.

I was reminded, that morning, of this verse written long ago and it’s message to us today; Do not be conformed by emulating the pattern of this world any longer; Be transformed, by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test, agreeing and approving what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.

My time that weekend with my wife, just the two of us, was a blessing beyond words. It had been years since we hung out together with no distractions. No calls, no texts, no emails, just us. And as we rode out that first morning into Big Bend, it was like going back in time. For in the early years of our marriage, we often hung out in Palo Duro canyon on Saturday mornings.

I was reminded as we rode along, how much I truly loved my Melissa and how blessed I was for all these years we have spent together. The beauty of the formations and the grandeur of the cliffs created an awe within me that words cannot encompass. To be here in this incredible, overwhelming, inspiring place with the love God has given me with my wife. And to realize how much of His creation I overlook in my day-to-day journey, causes me to stop and praise His Glorious Name.

I came to Big Bend with Melissa to view the night sky and star gaze without the pollution of the city lights. To experience once again the stillness of midnight under the vastness of the heavens.

And yet it’s not the stars that have caught my eye this trip. Oh, they are magnificent, more numerous than I can count, gloriously lighting our night sky. But I am drawn in my heart to that which I hold in my hand. To the one I have held and loved, wept with, laughed with, laid with, made a life with, my one, my gift, my wife.

Along with His reminding me in the desert my Heavenly Father has been walking with me speaking through the lives of my friends.

I have been visiting a lot lately with Big Mike Graham. At 80 years old, I guarantee you he can still out lift men half his age. I have had some health setbacks, and I know from experience there is no better coach out there than Mike when you need to get strong. The first thing he asked me after we spoke for a bit that first day was, “Jim what are you willing to commit?”

And that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? What am I willing to do to improve my strength?

That philosophy extends to all areas of my life, from physical well-being, to spiritual, to the relationship I have with my soul mate. Of all the voices I may tune out as I look for solitude, she is the one that speaks to me of love and desire, I must keep my ear sharpened to it, looking for the ways I may respond and demonstrate my feelings of affection, without hesitation.

One of the things Mike and I have discussed during my reeducation, is the ability to see the blessings of God in our lives. The little things that many people miss that add up to tremendous things along the way. It always amazes me how God goes before us, proving His care in the most unexpected of ways.

Mike shared with me his testimony of the many occasions the doors of opportunity have opened to him and all he was required to do was walk through them. Time and time again God has gone before Mike making a way for him to accomplish all he was given to do. And now at the mature age of 80, he is leading a 64-year-old youngster to strength through weight training. I thank God for Mike and men such as he that continue to inspire and challenge us to push forward in everything we do.

I took a trip to the desert and left behind the sands of distraction that had blown in my eyes. I took a trip to the desert and found my way back to wonder. I took a trip to the desert and solitude took me home.