The White Crane

Guest Editorial by Gayla M. Baughman

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. (Revelation 21:4-5a KJV).

The ride to work was getting depressing. The fields and meadows were brown, charred ugly stretches of colorless dirt. I was ready for spring and the planting to bring the green flourish of life back to the countryside. For now I guess I would just have to endure this ugly stretch.

Suddenly in the midst of my complaining, I saw it. It was standing majestically on the side of the road. It appeared to be waiting for me to pass. A lone, beautiful white crane stood stately on the shoulder of the road with his head held high as if listening to music. What a refreshing sight! I thought, as I passed in the midst of all this ugliness, there stands one of God’s beautiful creations. And a welcome sight it was to me. It lifted my spirits and gave me something positive to think about the rest of the journey.

Life gets ugly. Situations come into our lives that remind us of brown, charred colorless dirt. But just when we think we can’t take it anymore, God sends a little glimpse of heaven into our life. He reminds us that life is life and we must endure its hardships while we are here on earth. But oh, what a promise of tomorrow! Suddenly we see through His eyes, the beauty of life in Him. He makes all things new! My moment of truth had come. The country side became beautiful with a white crane to crown my thoughts and bring me back to real reality! He makes ALL things new. And today is going to be a wonderful day because I’ve had a glimpse of Heaven.

“Thank you Lord for another day to drink in your glory. With your help I will see the silver lining around each dark cloud that hovers overhead. Take me back to your word and your promises when I get bogged down with a complaining attitude. Put a white crane at the side of my dreary road to remind me that this is a glorious journey.”