Why I love my blog banner

I was telling a friend about the picture I use for the banner of this blog and why I love it. The picture was taken on my second trip to Croatia (Aug 2005) outside the town of Krapina. To me it is the picture of contrast. A sign indicating the course of the railroad track and the railroad track itself, which appears entirely different than the sign indicates. My friend and I were talking about how many temptations to get off the track of trusting God present themselves everyday. We were reminding ourselves of the proverb that speaks God's wisdom concerning these temptations:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge HIm, and He will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5-6)

My banner illustrates this instruction to me. The future may hold a million different curves, sharp turns, and go in unexpected directions, but to the man who trusts the Lord the future is straight. The principle begs the action of always trusting the Lord. Life's test may offer other options in multiple choice fashion, but the right answer is always A: Trust the Lord (all down the scantron, answer TTL no matter how attractive B or C look).

A good friend of mine (and roommate in college) serves as an example of someone who did this characteristically. I watched how time and time again he exercised faith in trusting God's wisdom. God used him as an RA at the master's college, brought him to Israel for a semester of study, brought him to the Master's Seminary, and then onto missions in Scotland. As God was doing these things I was struck by how straight his life appeared. I know that there were curves along the way, but God made them straight.