Restoration

Great Spirit Mountain ("haystack") Manitou Cave
Fort Payne, Alabama

"Now in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan...to the house of the LORD saying, 'Go...deliver [the money] into the hand of the workmen...who are in the house of the LORD to repair the damages of the house'..." (2 Kings 22:3-5)

In my hometown of Fort Payne, Alabama, a hot tourist spot in the 1960s was Manitou Cave—a historical cavern located near the "Trail of Tears" where Sequoyah, the creator of the Cherokee written language, was believed to have lived at one time. The Native-American syllabary is still visible on the walls of this ancient, God-crafted museum.

Sadly, the cave closed to public tours in 1979. The once beautiful grounds became overgrown with tall weeds and trees, and the old gift shop fell into severe disrepair.

Yesterday, while visiting dear friends in Fort Payne, on a whim, I said, "Let's go see if we can find Manitou Cave." 

Not only did we find the location, we met the delightful, new owner, Annette Reynolds, who is working through a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to restore and preserve this historical, national landmark! Visit: www.manitoucaveofal.org  

In the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, we find the story of Josiah, an eight-year-old boy crowned King of Judah, a kingdom in disrepair. Across his thirty-one-year reign, the righteous king renovated the house of the LORD, rediscovered the book of the law, and restored the wayward nation back the to ways and laws of God.

Today, we live in a nation and world of disrepair—far from the ways and laws of holy God. Be encouraged, beloved. A time for restoration is coming! "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the LORD; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed to you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets in ancient times." (Acts 3:19-21)