This fall we took a vacation to Virginia. One of our stops was a Virginia regional park south of Washington DC. We camped a few nights there as we planned to take the DC metro train into the nation's capital for some whirlwind sightseeing. The weather was very pretty and the crowds were not bad at all.

One one day, we toured the Library of Congress and leaving there we made our way past the capital building toward the Smithsonian. One immediately notices the Washington memorial off in the distance. Between the Washington memorial and the capital building is the national mall. It is a long tree-lined park that gives a splendid and unobstructed view of the monument. It was very imposing off in the distance. One can tell its relative size because it's taller than all other buildings in Washington. As you walk the mile or so down the mall the monument looms larger and larger until you finally reach the base and tilt your head back in awe of its overall size and the size of the blocks which were used to build it.

However, walking down the mall it is easy for other things to attract your attention. On either side are the museum buildings making up the Smithsonian. The monument looks very large and impressive from a distance, but it doesn't overwhelm you. However, the closer you get to the monument, the smaller you feel and the more you are impressed with its massive size.

Often people will want to have a relationship with God, but they want it to be a long-distance relationship. God is impressive, but we are also interested in other things and don't have the time to stand before Him, mouths agape and awestruck. Most professing Christians today probably have or have had in the past, this type of relationship with God. One can very easily get wrapped up in self importance or be easily distracted with the cares of the world.

God, always looms in the distance however and often when tragedy or adversity strike, our attention is drawn to the Lord and we begin to draw closer to Him. This is one of the benefits of adversity. It helps us to overcome our self-importance and shakes us out of distraction so that we may focus upon God and draw near to Him. As we draw closer to God, we realize how awesome He truly is and simultaneously realize how very small we are.

Realizing our seeming insignificance we become overwhelmed by His Love, Grace and Mercy, after all, What is man that thou art mindful of him...(Psa. 8:4). We can also take comfort in the fact that, being so small and helpless, we have an omnipotent and ever-present protector. Consider the size and power of He Who promises each of us “...I will never leave thee nor forsake thee..” (Heb. 13:5-6) Is it not comforting? Draw near to God. It's more awe-inspiring that any monument to men!