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BE VIVACIOUS | BEVIVACIOUS.ORG
For years, I have had this idea of what
Cabo would look like: a lush tropical
wonderland, perfect scenes and rocky
beaches, where waves crash so hard against
the cliffs that the sea spray reaches the clouds.
When we stepped off the airplane into a dry
and barren desert, I was a little confused won-
into another land that did not match where I
thought I was headed.
Isn’t this a lot like life?
We walk through our days, making one decision
after another, trying to determine where
we will go - the place we will land. If I’m completely
honest, I landed in a barren desert at
-
cision to let Jesus turn my self-created wasteland
into a never-ending Paradise. Jesus prom-
as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will
those small seeds that had been planted in my
heart all my life by family, youth leaders, and
select friends into fruit.
One day in a small southern church surrounded
by people I did not know, I met the One my
heart has longed to know, I mean really known,
for my entire life. Before that day I knew Jesus
was the Son of God, I had heard Him speak to
my heart and felt the close presence of the Holy
Spirit every time I made each decision that
placed me right in the middle of my emotional
hell. What I realized that day is that there is an
eternal difference between knowing and submitting
to Jesus and simply knowing that He is
real. Where in the past, I had gone through life
reading the Bible and praying only when I got
so desperate for a little more “water” that I got
to swim in the Word every chance I got. My
new normal became picking up the Bible like
I would a Nicholas Sparks novel and praying
through every step of life.
This vacation in Cabo was a much-needed
break for our family, and when we pulled up
to our rental house after a short ride from the
airport, the view took my breath away. Palm
in endless azure currents, and grass so green
you would think it rains every day. As we talked
with our driver, we learned that it had not
could not believe what I was seeing. How can
this be?
Standing at the front door of this beautiful
house, I saw cactus, rock, and what looked like
a place where nothing could survive much
less thrive. When I turned around to face the
ocean, I saw the most spectacular views my
eyes have ever seen with one unique architectural
gem after the other dressed in lush landscaping.
You would think the birds that sing
their songs from the treetops were home in
a place they have always known, but that just
isn’t the case. In its natural state, Cabo is a land
where the desert meets the sea, but when we
take the knowledge and resources that we have
and use them correctly, it is truly amazing what
we can create.
God has given us everything that we need to
thrive in this life. In the physical He has given
us knowledge, natural resources, relationships,
delicious food and water. In the spiritual
He has given us Himself, the Holy Spirit, the
Bible, wisdom from our own past experiences
and from what those around us have been
through.
Looking at the drastic comparison of the Cabo
landscape, God began to paint a beautiful picture
on my heart over the course of a few days.
With the view of a spectacular man-made paradise
that had been carved into the mountains,
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys
me is wise, like a person who builds a house on
solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents
against that house, it won’t collapse, because
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