As we move, finally, into summer, I am once again in awe of the beauty of nature as things begin to grow. But it is not really nature itself that is the source of my awe, but rather contemplating the God of the universe who created such beauty. At the Women’s Retreat I attended two weekends ago, we spent part of a session listening to waves so that we could be still and know that He is God. As I sat there meditating on the sound of the waves it occurred to me that as awe inspiring as it is to stand upon a beach and look out at the vastness of the ocean, it is even more awe inspiring to contemplate that God created that ocean. He dictated where there would be ocean and where there would be land. He is in control of each wave and could halt it’s coming in if He so chose.
But there is much more to nature, to creation, than just the ocean. So I decided to write my Thankful Thursday poem to express the source of my thankfulness for all the beauty around me.
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Nature
Nature and all creation
Almighty God spoke and it came to be
Trees tower, flowers flourish, wildlife and birds abound
Under the ocean fish flow, mammals move, and plants prosper
Roaring waterfalls, rushing wind, stars sweep across the night sky
Every detail perfectly designed for beauty and the glory of the Lord
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.
Genesis 1:1-3, 9-11, 14-15, 20-21, 24 (NIV).