We, as a group, were encouraged, on more than one occasion, to either close our eyes and/or be silent for several minutes as we either stayed still and looked around us or simply closed our eyes and listened to the noises that filled the air. During one of these times, I found myself sitting on the ground, eyes closed, listening to all the noises around me. I heard several birds chirpping, a fish jump in the water, dragonflies buzzing, and even Austin--9 mos. old and the youngest member of our group--crying for his mom. As I heard all these different sounds, I was reminded of the fact that each one was coming from one of God's many creations. Each one, in its own way, became extraordinarily beautiful. I was reminded of the lyrics to an old song:
All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice, and with us sing.
Oh, praise Him! Alleluia!
Lift up your voice, and with us sing.
Oh, praise Him! Alleluia!
How neat it was to realize that the noises I was hearing were really cries of praise to my Father! It seemed to give Lk 19:40 all the more meaning in my mind...that if we, as disciples, are silent, the very stones will cry out! What a privilege we have to worship our Creator! May we not neglect this and, in doing so, give way for another to complete such an honorable task.
As we continued walking, I was talking with Tierra, one of the teenagers with us, about the power of God that was made so evident by the flood damage that still remains in so many areas. We both seemed amazed at the number of trees--huge, massive, hundreds-of-years-old trees--that were basically uprooted and ended up laying across the road. There was damage to the pavement like I've never seen before--sinkholes that probably 4+ fully grown men could stand in. Again, I was reminded of God's power. He commanded, and the winds, rains, and trees obeyed. It was that simple. There were so many thoughts that I had trouble articulating, but as I shared what I could with Tierra, she alluded to the movie 2012. While I haven't seen it, I've gathered some of the basic storyline from things I've heard. If I'm not mistaken, it's basically a high-tech, sci-fi prediction of how the world will end. At one point Tierra said, "I think God will prove all those people wrong...and I'm gonna laugh!" I was so glad to hear her say such a thing! She's right; the world, as we know it, will end, but nobody knows the time, and I'm absolutely positive that Hollywood will be proven incorrect. I mean, really, you don't want to mess with the power of God!
And to think that God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth, not affected by our sin, not going groaning for its redemption.
ReplyDeleteAnd "the bride, the Lamb's wife...the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal...The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the all of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth bery., the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass...the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple...the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Imagine those jewels described, as we know them now. Now imagine them as foundations and walls, here and there, high and long and wide, and the light of God piercing and reflecting and blazing forth. - I don't know what its going to be like. We have a picture, but its unimaginable.
Like the queen of Sheba said to Solomon, "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me."
"Won't it be wonderful there!"
i know another sound of pure beauty created by the Creator...the sound of my children laughing at the same time, for the same reason...in the same room. orchestrated.... music to a momma's ears. love you, dear girl child of mine
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