Bittersweet Farm

Classic Re-post from September 15, 2004

For our silver wedding anniversary I talked my southern wife into going north with me. We spent most of two days enjoying Mackinac Island. They were both beautiful fall-like days. The splendor of summer was coming to an end. The grass was lush and the flowers in their full glory, but there was a cool snap in the air and leaves were beginning to turn. In places gusts of breeze blew yellow sliver-like leaves from the locust trees. Some of the maples were starting to blush.

We stayed at the Inn at Stonecliffe a beautiful English Tudor-style hotel high on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinac. We had a tidy little third-floor room up in the gable of the house. It had a big arched window with little panes of glass. The window opened wide into the room and let in the cool night air. From the sweeping lawn you could see the Mackinac Bridge, the five-mile-long man-made connection between the two peninsulas of Michigan. The great bridge spans the lakes over where the water of Lake Michigan blends with the water of Lake Huron. It is spectacular. It must be one of the loveliest spots on earth.

When we arrived the sky was clear so the water was a blue as a gem-stone. We brought our bikes along to explore the island and purchased passage with a ferry-service. It was a neat adventure. There were trails to hike and climb, paved bike roads, carriage rides, natural beauty, rock formations, trees, stony coasts, lighthouses, Victorian homes, banks of beautiful flowers everywhere, good food, music, all gathered for our enjoyment on a nostalgic island with no motorized vehicles.

We enjoyed the cool night and I rose early in the morning. I wanted to enjoy the breakfast buffet and so I decided to circle the island with my bike before breakfast. I would ride around the island, spend some time with the Lord, wake up Lois, and we would eat together in a little dining room overlooking the straits.

The sky was just beginning to lighten when I got on my bike and rode toward the south end of the Island. I rode down the steep hill past the Grand Hotel through town and then to the east on the shore road. From there you had a great view of the bridge. The sun was not high enough to fall on my path but it was getting lighter with every minute. You could hear the birds singing at the arrival of a new day and you could see a pink and yellow blush in the clouds in the west reflecting the rising sun.

I switched to the highest gear so I would enjoy an invigorating workout. My legs and my lungs burned. My head cleared and my heart sang. The lake flashed with light. The sunlight lightened the tops of trees. Picturesque cottages sat back in the shadows along the west side of the island. In a few minutes I rounded the northern tip of the island. The light was growing as I turned east. Suddenly I rode into the full light of the morning. The road was bathed with sunlight and warmth. The sun was rising over Lake Huron. The sky and the lake were breathtakingly beautiful. Immediately a thought sprang into my heart. How wonderful it is to be a follower of Christ. People who do not know and follow Christ are in continual darkness, but for those of us who know and follow him the path gets brighter and brighter like dawn until the full sunrise bursts upon us in beauty someday. A proverb came to mind:

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” (Proverbs 4:18-19 ESV)

The Living Bible paraphrases it like this: “…the good man walks along in the ever-brightening light of God’s favor, the dawn gives way to morning splendor, while the evil man gropes and stumbles in the dark.” (Proverbs 4:18-19 TLB)

Without Christ things are just going to get darker and darker, with him we can anticipate the glory of sunrise!

Ken Pierpont
Riverfront Character Inn
Flint, Michigan
September 15, 2004