The hidden lake

I moved here when I was 9 and moved away when I was 18.  In those 9 years, I did not
wander down the dirt road to this serene beautiful lake.
 Why?  I did not know it was there. 

I was 44 and looking at photos of my wedding taken by a neighbor in Cincinnati.

The two couples who traveled the 4 hours to our wedding might as well been

time traveling---so different was our small town from all that was familiar to them  in Cinci.

Bill, our neighbor/friend/photographer was enamored with our town, particularly this lake.

When I came upon the photos of this lake, I asked where he had found a lake in Barnesville.

 The look he gave me indicated that he thought I was being ditsy. 

"No, really, where did you find it?"

My husband then chimed in, "Beth, it's below the park.  It's our reservoir."

"Since when?"

"Since forever."

"Nah uh!"

At this point, the topic became a 'Bethism'---something I say or do that surprises and amuses him

while endearing me further into his heart.

Two weeks ago, after an overnight babysitting stint with the grandchildren, I turned my car
down the lane and with my camera explored.

How could I have missed it all those years?

The same way I missed the close relationship I now have with the trinity.

They were there all this time.

But I partook of only a fraction of what was available,

just as I swam in the pool, danced at the rec center, swung on the

swings, and watched baseball games in the park

above all this beauty.

It took a deep depression

and the loss of my father

to send me searching

for the 'lake'

hidden yet in full view.

It took quiet desperation

for me to spend the summer

in prayer, Bible study, and simply spending time

with the trinity.

Isn't it a shame that many of us have to fall in a dark pit

before we can stand on the hill overlooking a pristine lake?

Isn't it glorious that He takes our hands and lifts us up out of the pit

to the top of the hill, welcoming us, so happy we finally asked?

"And to know the love of Chist,

which passeth knowledge,

that ye might be filled with

all the fulness of God."

Ephesians 3:19

Part of imperfect prose on thursdays