Mark 8 verse 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
I was on my way to a Sunday evening service in West Suffolk and as I drove along, with very little traffic, I glanced over to my right and saw a line of trees against the edge of the field. Nothing remarkable, except it was as though someone whispered, “Look at all those trees” and taking a closer look I suddenly realised they were all a different shade of green. For me, that was a “Eureka” moment and awakened my interest in, and appreciation of, creation. A quote from Readers Digest, “There are two sorts of people who go on safari. Those who say, “There, there” and those who say, “Where, Where”. If you do not look when someone suggests something beautiful, there is a likelihood you will miss it. For the early part of my life, I had been so absorbed in other things that I hadn’t appreciated what was visible.
During a three-day power cut, in 1987, I was encouraged to go outside and look up and was amazed to see so many stars, previously obscured by the streetlights. Travelling on motorways often enables travellers to see the landscape that may be hidden using A and B roads. Walking around the streets of our neighbourhood reveals a variety of amazing sights that are hidden as we drive, for whatever reason.
We are also able to learn more about God’s handiwork through photographs, media documentaries and literature. One human fact that attracted my attention recently related to a part of the body called the epiglottis, which if you remember your biology, is a flap of tissue that sits beneath the tongue at the back of the throat. Its main function is to close over the windpipe (trachea) while you’re eating to prevent food from entering your airway. Such a small seemingly insignificant item yet appreciated if you have ever suffered from a choking experience.
My wife and I have been privileged to visit the USA and Europe and have seen some amazing sights, and yet still find much to enjoy in the UK. May we all make time to appreciate not only creation but to worship the Creator.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help us not to be too occupied with anything that obscures our appreciation of creation or our response to you, the Creator AMEN.