I sat down along an Oregon Cascade back road on a sunny summer 2004 day and began checking out the bees, the bugs and the birds in the bush. I spotted this little ant just tooling along up this flower stem, minding his own ant business, when a monstrous bee (well, to him) suddenly lighted on the flower above. Freezing in his tracks, his antennae shot up and zeroed in on the menace. The little ant stood firm until the danger passed.

Challenges, obstacles, dangers, disappointments. Earth is not Heaven.
The proving ground? Yes.
Hard? Sometimes.
Worth the journey?
Forever always.

Scripture quotations marked “NCV™” are taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.