‘And God said…’

When was the last time you took notice of God’s handiwork? Not simply a passing glance but truly looking and seeing something so amazing you couldn’t take your eyes off of it? Maybe it was a sunrise or sunset where the sky resembled billows of fire? Or, perhaps you’ve seen the moon on the horizon when it looked so large you felt as though you could reach out and touch it? Oh my goodness, there are so many things around us that tell of the work of our Creator!

On a recent trip to pick out a new kitchen countertop, I found myself in one of these moments. The temperature outside was freezing so that when we entered the warehouse where most of the materials were being displayed, it was still necessary to wear a coat. It was truly warehouse conditions with cinderblock walls and the beeping noise of the equipment needed to move the large slabs of stone from one place to another. Since Richard and I have built several houses throughout our life together, this was not my first time at this exercise. However, it is the first time I have been so overwhelmed by the naturally occurring variety in both color and pattern of the stone.

As I walked around both the warehouse and outside to study the slabs of stone, I totally forgot how cold it was! My eyes were so struck by what I was seeing, that I actually said out loud God does nice work! Fully expecting those around me to agree, I was disappointed at the silence. This made me wonder if because the work environment required them to be around it everyday they “couldn’t see the forest for the trees?” Or, rather, that they were quite possibly standing on holy ground, as we walked through the “art gallery” where God’s creative hands had been at work and they simply didn’t know it? Then, I wondered how many times throughout the day have I missed the hand of God, simply taking for granted His creative work because He has given and allowed me to see it all of the time?

One of my favorite Psalms is the eighth chapter. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all of the earth! When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him…?” It expresses and sums up this devotion and is worth reading in its entirety.

Let me encourage you to put down your cell phone, tablet or other device that beckons for your constant attention and look up! What do you see?

Oh God, Creator of heaven and earth, forgive me when I become so distracted by the things created by man that I take for granted and miss out on the beauty from You that is a gift unrivaled. Thank You! AMEN

To The One Who has “set [His] glory above the heavens.” Psalm 8:1