The Mountains also Testify

“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

At my daughter’s, almost every morning for the last three weeks, I’ve walked across the lawn and boulders of her back yard, opened the gate, and walked a path around a three hundred acre lake just to the east. Thirty miles west, Long’s Peak, more than 14,000 feet, glows in the early light. Two evenly-matched smaller peaks–Twin Sisters–shore up the north side of the “fourteener.” They are part of the front range that stretches for a hundred and seventy-five miles, as if anchoring not only Colorado, but all of America.

But I’m a water person, myself. The smell of the sea, the ceaseless roll of the waves, the endless view across the ocean speaks God’s poetry. And yet, the mountains also testify.

“I am a rock,” Long’s Peak says, “like your God is a rock.” Rocks endure. These high hills will give witness to the steadiness of the Godhead until the end.  Twenty years ago, I ascended another fourteener, Pike’s Peak. The three jet fighters that roared round the rock below us accentuated the height, approaching three miles. The enormous stone formations at the foot–the Garden of the Gods–looked like some giant had arranged boulders in his backyard, like a gargantuan version of my daughter’s landscaping. 

But we don’t need to walk the beach or contemplate the heights to perceive God’s character. We can open our own front door. The iridescence of a blackbird’s neck, the yellow center of a daisy, the blue of a cloudless sky–they all reveal God’s power and love. Indeed, we need look no further than the design of our own hand to sense his care. God has given great thought to the making of the earth and its inhabitants so that we can begin to discern his nature by his creation.

Creator-Father, open our eyes to see your character in your handiwork. 

Surprised by Grace

On May 8, I wrote about three extra pounds I needed to lose before I came out to Colorado for the birth of our first grandson.  I just knew I wouldn't be able to resist eating the cookies and chunks of nutty granola treats that had been a downfall on previous visits.

But guess what? God had a different plan.  I lost a pound before I got here and I've lost two pounds here. Who knew I could resist? I had it all figured out–what I needed. But, once again, God showed me his power and grace.

Don't we all have areas where we just know how it's going to be? We know what's going to happen, especially if we don't do what we need to do. If we don't apply for that job a week before the deadline, we can't possibly be hired. We think if we've smoked for fifty years, we'll never quit. Maybe eating is your issue, too, and you just know you'll go to the grave in the body size you are now. You've made your bed and you'll just have to lie in it, just like your Mother always said.

Turns out, though, Moms are not always right. Sometimes God's surprising grace overrides Moms and our own expectations to bless us with a new experience of him.

Holy Spirit, thank you for your fresh manifestation of grace. May every reader be surprised by your gracious power today.

Cherished Children

"He's adorable!" "Oh, how sweet!" "He's so cute!"

That's what we've been hearing a lot of around here as we admire our new grandboy, now just nine days old. Mom, Dad, and Grandma (that's me :)) keep touching his soft skin, chuckling at his funny faces, and rushing to pick him up at the first sign of fussiness.  As we meet his every need quickly and kindly, we are laying the foundations of his life.  I am so grateful that his parents are able to give him such a good start.

My foundations were roughly laid and missing a whole wall. Having little sense of how to help build a life, I screwed up my daughter's foundation. She, however, has worked hard to let God build his house in her heart. And she's now ready, by grace and with grace, to lay a solid footing for her son.

Many of us have been betrayed by those who should have responded to our needs. A father isn't there. A mother's attention is directed to an older sister. A grandfather takes advantage of us. No one told us we were sweet, cute, or adorable.

Except the God who calls himself Father, even Abba, Daddy. He thinks we're delightful. Fallen, broken, and yet, his cherished children.

Father, show us how to receive, again, or for the first time, your fathering.