The Maku'u Point Story
This is one of my favorites spots near our home on Hawaii Island. Along these lava cliffs that jut out over the ocean, the gorgeous waves hit, sending white spray into the air.
Off to the right, just out of sight and not shown in the painting, is a bench someone built. It changes color occasionally as local residents spruce it up with fresh paint from time to time. When you sit on that bench, you look out to sea with this tree directly in view.
The first year we lived in Hawaii…
- the rest of the story -
…this became a very special spot to me. It was a place that I sat after church most Sunday afternoons, eating a musubi or a bento lunch I had picked up at a local grocery store.
As I sat there, my heart was full of joy from the beauty around me. I felt better physically than I had in many, many years. I was finally, after more than 8 years, able to attend a full church service. The fellowship was so unique and special it filled up the empty reservoir in my heart. However, the time on that bench was also filled with deep sadness.
When we moved to Hawaii for my health, Bill and I held a deep hope we would once again be able to attend church together, as well as have some fun after so many years of being unable to do either.
But sadly, while I enjoyed the health and beauty of the island, the only job that opened to Bill was at a department store and he was stuck inside all week, including most Sundays.
As I sat on the bench after going to church alone, eating my lunch alone, God spoke to me through the beauty around me to soothe my aching heart.
I looked out at those beautiful blue endlessly rolling waves and I was reminded of how constant God’s love is.
Then my gaze turned to the lava. In these huge cracked and broken slabs, you can see the evidence of where and how the lava has flowed. And yet, all around me the jungle is encroaching on the cliffs.
“How could a jungle grow on all this lava?” I pondered. Even in our backyard at 600ft elevation, there are still sections of lava and there was no way to dig or plant in these areas. A place that was covered with deep lava in 2018 still steams in the rain, and yet, you can already see ferns and even tiny Ohia trees growing out of the cracks.
Looking at the lava cliffs, I was reminded that life can, and does, spring out of hard barren places - both literally and figuratively.
And then my eyes, traced the roots of the tree. And I thought about the storms, and hurricanes that had hit the coast in recent years… and still that tree has clung to its spot on the edge of the ocean. I was reminded that good, strong, roots of faith had helped me hang on through many pounding storms in my life, and would help me hold on now, and in the future.
All of us are guilty of putting our hope in a change of circumstances. I certainly was. But life is unpredictable, and our circumstances uncontrollable. In this spot, week after week, I was reminded that my hope wasn’t in fulfilling my dreams. My hope is already being fulfilled through my faith in Jesus.
God gives me love as constant as the waves.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
Psalms 136:1 NLT
Just like jungle growth on the lava, He brings new life to my heart where things were once burned and dead. He gives me strength to grow in the darkest times, and hang on through the storms of life. I believe, like Abraham,
“…in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.”
Roman’s 4:17
My roots of faith keep me strong just like the tree in this painting. They don’t fail me even when the hurricanes of life roar through. Nothing…not disappointment, not illness, not pain, or anything else will ever tear me away from God’s love when I cling to my faith in his truth and goodness.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT
I am loved.
I am strong.
I am not alone.
My hope has been fulfilled.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Things in life don’t always go according to plan. We all need reassurance and hope at certain times in our lives. Are you at that point right now? Let me reassure you… if you put your hope in Jesus, you will not be disappointed.
Thank you for taking a moment today to sit with me in my spot of reassurance and hope. Would you like to ask someone else to come sit on this bench of hope? You can!! There’s room for three. Just share this story and painting with them. And if you have your own spot of hope, share that too! In fact, I’d love to hear your story if you’d be willing to share it with me.
