As I walked out of the building in Mechanicsburg after a long day at work, the evening air was perfect. The warm wind swirled my hair into my face as I squinted against the sunlight. As my eyes adjusted, the fullness of the fat, green mountains came into view surrounded by a baby blue sky splashed with plump, white clouds. It was glorious. I couldn't help but drink it all in and thank God for this moment. For all He created. For reminding me that He is all around me.
Driving home yesterday along my usual route through the Appalachian mountain range, the sight was so very similar. The green of the trees lushly blanketing the mountains, the deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds all dappled by the glint of the sun. It made me think of the colors in God's palette. I could imagine the palette and brush in His hands as He spoke them into being. I then thought about how these particular colors are in my other fave place...on the water.
These views, the beauty of it all, refreshes me. I think about Jesus. How when he needed time to refresh or to seek communion with his Father, he went off into the wilderness (mountains) or out on the water. I feel the same way. Even when I was in high school, when I was overwhelmed or needed to get away, I went down to the lake or into the valley to connect again. I don't know that I thought of it as being with Him, but I do now. I know that when I seek out those places, I am trying to climb deeper into Daddy's lap. To be wrapped in His presence. To be surrounded in His beauty. To be bathed in His light. To be touched by His breath.
I love the feeling of the wind. Soft. Cool. Warm. Hot. Whipping. I don't care. I love its sound too. Like a whisper at times or a roar at others. I suppose it is why I like to run, or ride horses, or on the back of a motorcycle, or the bow of a boat, or with the top down on a convertible. All ways to have the wind push against me. Swirl around me. I close my eyes and just feel it. Smell it. Allow it to envelope and caress me. Sheer joy is how I feel in it. A smile turning up the corner of my lips. A laugh building within me. I can't help turning my face into it. I know why dogs put their heads out the window of a car. It's FUN!
I also love the way He paints the sky as the sun rises and sets. I am not often up to witness its rise, but I do make a point quite regularly to enjoy it setting. Last night, a friend called to ask if I would join him on his boat when I arrived home. My friend said he remembered that I love sunsets and boating and since he wanted to go out, he asked me to come along. We went a few miles offshore and anchored in the midst of the sun's setting reflection as it splayed across the water like a spotlight on us. The wind was light and cooling. The sun appeared to be a pink ball. As it set, it dipped through a cloud cluster and he commented that it looked like it was sitting behind a mountain. He was right. It did. As it sunk below the horizon of the lake, it cast off purple and pinks that turned to a deep indigo as the night settled in as we head for shore. The moon was a slim crescent in the sky with even its dark side visible. The planets that are currently visible (Venus and Saturn), too. As we sit on the restaurant's deck for a late dinner, I look up to see the stars in the sky as well. It is perfect.
His creation. His beauty. It is boundless.
Driving home yesterday along my usual route through the Appalachian mountain range, the sight was so very similar. The green of the trees lushly blanketing the mountains, the deep blue sky and fluffy white clouds all dappled by the glint of the sun. It made me think of the colors in God's palette. I could imagine the palette and brush in His hands as He spoke them into being. I then thought about how these particular colors are in my other fave place...on the water.
These views, the beauty of it all, refreshes me. I think about Jesus. How when he needed time to refresh or to seek communion with his Father, he went off into the wilderness (mountains) or out on the water. I feel the same way. Even when I was in high school, when I was overwhelmed or needed to get away, I went down to the lake or into the valley to connect again. I don't know that I thought of it as being with Him, but I do now. I know that when I seek out those places, I am trying to climb deeper into Daddy's lap. To be wrapped in His presence. To be surrounded in His beauty. To be bathed in His light. To be touched by His breath.
I love the feeling of the wind. Soft. Cool. Warm. Hot. Whipping. I don't care. I love its sound too. Like a whisper at times or a roar at others. I suppose it is why I like to run, or ride horses, or on the back of a motorcycle, or the bow of a boat, or with the top down on a convertible. All ways to have the wind push against me. Swirl around me. I close my eyes and just feel it. Smell it. Allow it to envelope and caress me. Sheer joy is how I feel in it. A smile turning up the corner of my lips. A laugh building within me. I can't help turning my face into it. I know why dogs put their heads out the window of a car. It's FUN!
I also love the way He paints the sky as the sun rises and sets. I am not often up to witness its rise, but I do make a point quite regularly to enjoy it setting. Last night, a friend called to ask if I would join him on his boat when I arrived home. My friend said he remembered that I love sunsets and boating and since he wanted to go out, he asked me to come along. We went a few miles offshore and anchored in the midst of the sun's setting reflection as it splayed across the water like a spotlight on us. The wind was light and cooling. The sun appeared to be a pink ball. As it set, it dipped through a cloud cluster and he commented that it looked like it was sitting behind a mountain. He was right. It did. As it sunk below the horizon of the lake, it cast off purple and pinks that turned to a deep indigo as the night settled in as we head for shore. The moon was a slim crescent in the sky with even its dark side visible. The planets that are currently visible (Venus and Saturn), too. As we sit on the restaurant's deck for a late dinner, I look up to see the stars in the sky as well. It is perfect.
His creation. His beauty. It is boundless.
“That is, we see the glory of God, not just the glory of the heavens. We don’t just stand outside and analyze the natural world as a beam, but let the beam fall on the eyes of our heart, so that we see the source of the beauty – the original Beauty, God himself.” ~John Piper
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