Off the Beaten Path



What in the world was it doing there? A lone cottontail bunny was lounging on the small patch of grass outside the Courtyard Marriott just steps away from bustling Colorado Boulevard in Denver's retail mecca.

When I first caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was a lawn ornament because it was so still. However taking a closer look I saw the bunny blink and then raise up from the outstretched pose to a more typical crouch.

Why was it there? How could it survive with cars racing by? Was it lost? What would happen to it? were the questions flooding my mind about the little bunny. It seemed out of place, however when we arrived home after dinner it was still there, having moved to a different spot on the lawn. And then in the morning when it was still around I realized that maybe that was its home. Maybe it had found a safe, secure place to stay out of harms way even though danger lurked just feet away. Perhaps he was the hotel mascot and the employees cared for its needs.

I sometimes wonder if people look at some of the places I go and question why I am there. If at a homeless shelter do they think that’s where I live? If in a bad neighborhood do they wonder if I have the wrong motive for being there? If I’m seen in a bar, do they assume that I like to party? And if they see me going to church are they surprised that I’m “one of those people”?

Just as I questioned the bunny on the lawn which didn’t seem to fit often times we judge where we see other people without assuming the best, such as volunteering at the homeless shelter or visiting a shut-in who lives in a bad neighborhood or being in a bar to witness to a friend or family member.

I don’t want my life to be so ordinary that people always know what to expect of where I go and what I do, but I want to live in such a way that people are surprised to see where all I go and what all I do. That’s the kind of life we can have when we are walking with the Lord. After all He is a God of the unexpected. So are you in with me? Do you want to live a life of surprises? If so, hang on because God will lead you to places you never dreamed.

John 10:10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (New Living Translation)

www.hearthope.org

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