By David Ettinger
A Great Lesson
I learned a great lesson today: In the midst of all that is going on in the world, never take for granted the beauty of God’s creation.

I learned this lesson while out for a walk. You see, I try to take an hour-long walk every day, but I have a problem: At age 62, I am a hopeless creature of habit and hate getting out of my pattern of life. This includes my walks. I have lived in the same Orlando, Florida, neighborhood since 2004 and 98 percent of my walks have taken the same, redundant, never-changing route.
And this has been just fine with me!
However, working from home and really, really getting into a routine (no going to the office to break things up), I knew I needed a change. Therefore, I took the radical, subversive, and drastic step of actually altering my walking path. I went north instead of south; left instead of right; and trod upon grass instead of pavement.
This modification in behavior was a total shock to my system, but I endured it – and came out so much the better for it!

A Whole New World!
My 67-minute sojourn took me to the community college just four blocks away and at which I once taught. It is a spacious campus nestled into what’s left of the wooded area cut down to make room for it.
As I strode past the various buildings on campus, it was as if I entered through a portal to another world. This other world, in reality, is Orlando as it used to exist before we became the tourist capital of the world; or to put it another way, the “true” Orlando.

I was pleased to find a dirt and grass trail carved into the landscape, surrounded on all sides by tall trees adorned with hanging Spanish moss. The moss swaying in the gusty breeze seemed to be talking to me, saying: “It’s been 16 years; it’s about time you got around to visiting us! Not to mention the fact that you worked just one block away for two years. See what you’ve been missing!”
I did indeed see what I was missing, and it got even better when I eyed a small clearing which led to a tranquil lake. I actually knew about the lake as I would sit by it waiting for class to begin. However, this time I was on the other side of it, the side entered into via a Spanish moss-lined pathway.
I even learned the name of that small, lovely body of water: Lake Pamela. If I had not gotten out of my shell, I never would have discovered that name, nor even bothered to think that that lake had a name at all!

God’s Gift
I have no doubt this brief change of direction in my staid and boring life was God’s gift to His child of 34 years who has been spending way too much time studying the end-times, trying to make sense of the terrible things going on in the world, and just losing his appreciation of God’s creation.
In the midst of the storm in which we live, God’s beauty is all around us, even as close as our own backyards if we take the time to open our eyes to see it.
I’m so grateful to God for leading me on this detour in my life, and I joyfully praise Him for His beauty!

thefathersfeet
April 10, 2020
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below… I love that song. I am so glad the Lord took you on a different route. What beauty, indeed! I love the trees along your path, and beautiful is the lake Amanda. I believe that the little guy at the end! He deserves a name. Perhaps Boo, is what my 11 and 15 year old think. With the caption, who needs all this toilet paper anyway?! God bless you David. I honestly love this genuine post. ♡
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
Thank you so much for the kind words! And in honor of your children, if I see my little visitor again, I will say, “Hiya there, Boo, how are things hopping today?”
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thefathersfeet
April 10, 2020
God is so good! He, through your adventure, brought joy to me and my two daughters. Keep going that route! Or maybe a different way to see the beauty from a different angle. Much needed and be blessed.
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
I will keep traveling that route and others. And may you and your daughters have a blessed Resurrection Sunday weekend. (I’ll be spending mine with my son, daughter-in-law, and 3+year-old grandson. Can’t wait!)
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thefathersfeet
April 10, 2020
Love not believe for little guy at the end. Wonder why a person can’t edit their responses?
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
No worries. I do it all the time. After spending so much time editing my blogs, I slack a little in my responses. So long as people know what I meant … and I knew what you meant!
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Robert
April 10, 2020
I live near a lovely river but only discovered the other day that a path goes right down beside it quite near my house. Next time I nip down there I’ll have to share photos of my discovery. Thanks for sharing yours! 🙂
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
Definitely, Robert. Interesting how we both discovered, basically, the same thing. Would love to see those pictures.
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Robert
April 10, 2020
Yeah I’m a bit of a creature of habit too tbh. I think a positive of this time is us getting to see new corners of God’s beautiful creation 🙂
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
True indeed. My only observation, you’re, as we say in Southwest U.S. where I used to live, “a young’un.” Too early to be a creature of habit. But no worries. As that little girl of yours grows, she’ll break you out of your habits! My son’s teen years sure did a number on me!
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Robert
April 10, 2020
😀
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Blue Collar Theologian
April 10, 2020
David, I LOVE this post!!!!! Beautiful pics, even the frog!!! I am glad to hear you switched up your routine! I am also a walker! Due to the coronavirus and only leaving the house for life sustaining activities parks, walking trails, hiking paths are being overrun with people. This is also causing me to seek out more remote places! For what it’s worth, Amanda is a Latin female name meaning “worthy of love.”
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
I never knew that about “Amanda.” Thanks, Mandy!
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Blue Collar Theologian
April 10, 2020
My given name is Amanda; however, I have been called Mandy for as long as I can remember! It’s funny Nathan does not like to be called Nate yet people insist on calling him that, while I prefer Mandy and people call me Amanda. Nicknames are a fascinating thing!
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
They are. At work, my boss is also named David, and our offices are near each other. When people would call out, “Dave,” we would both say, “what.” Soon, it was decided to call me by my initials, DE, which everyone at work does, while the boss gets to keep his name. And I’m the older one; I had the name first!😃
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vicklea
April 10, 2020
Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing.
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
Thank you, Vickie.
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heavensreef
April 10, 2020
I can very much relate…….just got back from my walk too. The sky is crystal blue and things are beginning to bloom here in the desert. The breeze was perfect and I was able to speak with neighbors along the way. But my morning began sitting on my patio. Just there alone, GOD sent me birds…….a roadrunner (yes we have them here) and a hummingbird. Let us learn to look through the lens of GOD and truly see HIS beautiful creation……it’s only a small preview to what Heaven will be like. Our minds really don’t have an idea of what awaits us!!
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
So true, Maxine. I was going to mention that … how the beauty of this world is nothing compared to what is to come, but I decided to leave it there. Thanks for including this glorious truth in your comment!
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heavensreef
April 10, 2020
Maybe on the same page with the way GOD is speaking to us these days!! Amen!
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The Son Of God
April 10, 2020
Nature reveals to us God’s beauty, glory, power, wisdom, presence, creativity, and, most of all, his loving care. This is why we’re drawn to spend time in the beauty of nature and to enjoy animals. To take a walk on a beautiful day, play with your dog in the grass, or hold your cat are reliable ways for many people to connect with God’s loving presence.
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
Well said. Amen.
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Ryan Callahan
April 10, 2020
Amen sir! Do you ever see alligators on your walks? Never know what might be around the corner there in Florida.😊 Love that little frog! God bless!
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dettinger47
April 10, 2020
Hi Ryan. No alligators where I walk; I stay well aware from those places. Yes, that frog was quite the find!
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Lady Quixote/Linda Lee
April 11, 2020
Glorious! Now I am inspired to walk on new paths.
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dettinger47
April 11, 2020
It’s an excellent idea.
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Bill Sweeney
April 13, 2020
Looks like another world. I have played golf in Orlando and we’ve been to Disney (in my life before ALS), but I have not seen that part of your area. Thanks for the virtual tour 🙂 Good job taking advantage of the God-given gift of being able to walk. As I was typing that, Mary popped her head in and said she’s going on a walk 🙂 It’s a big stress relief for her.
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dettinger47
April 13, 2020
That’s one of the great things about walking!
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