6/8/09

Reflecting

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—
his eternal power and divine nature
have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,
so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20

Parenting an inquisitive 4 year old has forced me into many situations I had not anticipated before becoming a parent. There was a time I shaved my legs regularly because of a normal beauty regimen. Now I shave them to avoid hearing this in the grocery store when I get bumped in to: "Ow, Mom! You just poked me with your leg hair!"
I have become more introspective as a mom as well. The other day, Benton and I were talking about how we got here. I explained to him for the 4,000th time how God made the world. (I think he might just like hearing the story). God spoke, I said, and light came out of darkness. God spoke, I said, and moon, stars, planets and galaxies were formed where there was nothing before. God spoke and gave Saturn rings and made Mars red and then there was Earth. Once He set the galaxies to spinning, He took Earth and spoke land and water and trees and sky. He spoke trees and flowers and birds and fish and every animal you can think of. (We paused here to name every animal we could think of).
Do you remember what happened when God was done making all of that stuff?
What?
He said it was good. The He made one more thing. What was it?
People!
That's right. Do you remember how God made people? Did he speak and suddenly there was Adam standing up walking around? No. God used His very own hands to form Adam's body out of dust He had just created, then He breathed His very own breath into that body to make him alive. That is what makes people so special. We are animated by the breath of our Creator (Oops. Forgot my audience is four). God's breath is what makes us live and move.
We are so different than the plants and animals because with God's breath came choice. When He gave us life, He also gave us the choice to love and obey Him or not. Nature doesn't have that choice. Plants grow toward the sun because God programed them to. They have no choice. Animals obey their instincts because that's what God made them to do. Every single day of their lives, plants and animals, without thought, fulfil their purpose.
**End of story, beginning of reflection**
Nature's very being reflects the power and divine nature of the one who made it. Do I?




Last Thursday I indulged in about an hour in my lounge chair out back with a good book. The sun was shining, the boys were napping, the sweet tea was cold. Paradise plus a few dandelions. I decided I should get the lawn mowed before my husband came home and caught me, so I put away my paraphernalia, drug the lawn mower out front, yanked on the cord until it started and proceeded shove the whirling machine across my bumpy lawn. I had gone about four feet when it quit. Out of gas. We have three gas cans in the garage and not one of them had a drop of fuel. Off the hook--for now. I figured I'd walk down to the gas station once the boys got up from their naps and I'd try again later. I came inside to put a few things away, and after about 10 minutes, noticed it was starting to get a little dark. Perhaps the sun went behind a cloud. But it kept getting darker. I looked outside and the sky was almost black--at 4:00 in the afternoon! I guess I won't have to mow the lawn today! I ran outside to put the mower away before the rain started. I hurried inside and decided I should call Paul and tell him to run for cover. About that time, the first drops began to plummet to earth, and I realized my cell phone was still under my lounge chair. I dashed out to get it and barely missed being soaked.
I listened to the radio telling me about severe thunder storm warnings, and tornado sightings and lightning. Benton got up just as thunder rolled across the sky and the newsman said, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to get hit by lightning. He hid under the pillows of my bed until I turned on Letter Factory.
I stood at the window and watched the rain coming hard and fast and horizontal from the north as the newsman said to stay away from windows. The wind shoved our neighbor's giant Poplar trees to un natural angles. My poor lounge chair endured the the onslaught, dripping, shaking, but not moving. Out front, lighting streaked across the sky and thunder rattled the atmosphere. My neighbor and I waved at one another as we watched the storm tumble around us from behind our respective windows. Thunder storms remind me of college and Florida and Paris. I've been through them there, but nothing quite like this has ever powered through my own back yard. I inventoried nature's motivation as a bird careened for cover and discovered nature has no motivation for what it does. It simply does what it was made to do.

The LORD makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Psalm 135:7

Even in it's fury, nature cannot help but reflect the power of the Creator.
Humans can help it though. Daily, we choose to do things that do not reflect His glory. We over eat; we loose our cool; we hold grudges; we yearn for the things of this world. We fail to fulfill our purpose day in and day out. Millions bought the book Purpose Driven Life in an effort to find meaning in life, but Solomon summed it up in a sentence:

"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Ecc. 12:13

We were not made to live day in and day out missing what we were made for. No other creation seeks their purpose and struggles with feeling inadequate. No other creation says, "sure, it's easy to say 'fear God and keep His commandments,' but what does that look like on a practical level?" No other creation devours self help novels--I mean books--like they were created to eat them. No other creation wonders if they are doing it right. God didn't make us to wonder. We started wondering when the tempter started whispering sweet nothings in the garden, and we haven't stopped. Why do we wonder at all, I wonder. Because we forget what the One who made us is capable of. Look around you today and remember who you serve. Remember your purpose. Remember what you were made for and remember

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever
, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.


5 comments:

The Cowgirl's Typewriter said...

Very good post. It made me stop and think.

Aly sun said...

Inspired.

Sherri said...

Amen! Worth waiting for!

Sally said...

Wow Andrea... that was really powerful. Thank you for posting that...

Cathy said...

Thanks for the reminder and the lesson!