I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

One benefit of a major move like ours has been the opportunity to establish new priorities and routines, and one of my favorites is the short morning devotional time Rebekah and I share at the kitchen table after breakfast.

We both still practice our personal prayer disciplines, and we still talk together about what God is teaching us; but there is a compelling intimacy to the shared experience that has become an important element of launching our day.

That’s the context where we read the Ephesians passage (above). It was one remarkable phrase – “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…” – that brought us back to the scripture again this morning – “…enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”

And we both thought, immediately, about the good people of Wake Forest Presbyterian Church (WFPC) and we paused to thank God for the hope to which we are all called.

RECREATION: Rebekah and I are also trying to be deliberate about getting to know the Wake Forest area. There is so much to focus our attention on at WFPC that it’s all too easy to slip into a “home and church” routine and forget that we’ve moved to this spectacular new location.

So Monday afternoon we loaded Scout Labradoodle in the SUV and headed for one of the dozen or so parks maintained by the city.

I’ve already talked about the reinvigorated, active, economically alive town center here, easily accessible and less than a mile hike from our home via sidewalks. Well, the parks are another great feature. The closest (Tyler Run) is just 100 yards from our front drive, and the park we hiked yesterday is less than five minutes by car.

So we drove past the golf course, wound our way around the seminary campus, then made our way along historic North Main with its lovely homes, wide median, and spectacular fall foliage.

Joyner is Wake Forest’s newest park, featuring 117 acres and over three miles of trails for walking and biking. It also includes a magnificent pecan grove and a set of original, restored, farm buildings designed to allow visitors to experience history first hand.

So we walked, slowly, hand in hand; and we enjoyed the recreation of relaxed mind, replenished spirit, and reinvigorated body, drinking in the goodness of God, along with the fresh air of the fall.

EPHESIANS: It was, in sense, one more way of affirming that, “The eyes of our hearts are enlightened;” and that we, “Know the hope to which Jesus has called us.”

– DEREK