Life Outside the Cage

I treasure my Bible. One of my favorite pastimes includes marking and highlighting favorite passages. The pages contain notations of God moments and my spiritual life milestones parade across the margins. But my heart bursts with joy when the cover is fully stocked with pens and highlighters of every color indicating that I am equipped to delve into God’s wisdom and truth. See, I’m packed and ready to go!

The sight of the protruding point jutting toward the sky melts my heart and brings me to a spirit of worship. Big or small, white or black, metal or wood, all steeples mesmerize me. Why? Did it begin with a young child’s finger play? You know, the one where you fold your fingers inward and chant. “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people” as you open your hands, palms up, and wiggle your fingers.

My infatuation with church steeples may be puzzling to most, but they symbolize a multitude of things to me . . . mostly roots. Roots of our country founded upon Christian principles. Roots of the church enduring for centuries. Roots of small-town America sharing a camaraderie of faith.
But a steeple signifies so much more, it is the place where people gather to worship my Lord. I wonder if the Israelites had the same feeling when they entered the city and saw the temple. This was the place that symbolized God. Seeing a majestic turret shifts my thoughts to The Almighty. I instinctively pause and pray as it directs me to the heavens, a representation of the dwelling place of Christ. Through city streets, across the valleys and lakes, through the countryside far and wide, the steeple declares Christ.

Over the years I’ve been afforded the opportunity to travel. Hundreds of locations are etched on my life map. Each time I would enter a town, the highest church steeple would call to me, beckoning me toward a place that signified peace and security. My favorite site is to reach the crest of a hill and glimpse a town nestled in the foothills, a steeple rising from the trees and roadways.

Someday I will embark on my ultimate dream vacation of touring tiny communities in each state. These hamlets represent the love of home, country, and God, and usually consist of a town square constructed around the center building – a church with a steeple. I can’t wait to see them all!