Spring Forth

Scripture:  Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  Isaiah 43:18-18

I'm not sure if you've ever had the privilege to travel in the high deserts of Utah, Arizona or New Mexico, but the thing that I find most fascinating is the fact the layers of rock reveal that at one time a great deal of that desert area was under water!  It boggles my mind and reminds me of how small I really am.

Our vision is so limited by our perspective.  If all we see is the same environment every day, then we think that is all there is.  That movie "Horton Hears a Who" is the perfect example of that.  If you haven't watched it, you should.  I mean who dreamed up some of our most recent modern inventions?  Had I been born in the early 1800's could I have even imagined a cell phone?

God sees it all.  God's perspective is all encompassing.  Although we see life through a small portal of time, God does not.  God was there at the beginning and in God and through Christ all things were made!  We are told this in the gospels, and it often takes something beyond my understanding to remind me of how very little I actually can conceive or understand.

This is where faith comes to me.  In moments where things do not make sense to my mortal mind.  It's like taking the Nestea Plunge into the arms of God in the desert.  I fall back trusting that the God that dried up waters in New Mexico to reveal the beauty in rocks, plants and nourishes ferns hanging upside down from a rock in Tennessee.  How much more then will God cultivate and nourish me and my faith?

When was the last time you found wonder and beauty in something way beyond your control or scope of understanding?  Seek out a place where you can be reminded that God doesn't need you, but instead chooses to invite you into being part of what God has created just for His pleasure and for relationship.

Leslie Stephens

Winchester, TN by way of San Bernadino, CA

Prayer:  Maker of Heaven and Earth, thank you for not overlooking any tiny detail in the world today, including my life and the meaning of it.  Teach me to trust you with all the little details.  Amen.

Prayer Tip:  Stand in awe of something only God could have created.  Let it wash over you!

photo credit: Sandy Dodson