Exclamations in Nature
By Ken and Jan Merop
Cleveland, Tennessee
I cherish two special memories involving children and nature from our back-to-back trips to North Carolina and then to Colorado.
We had taken our 3 ½-year-old grandson, Jonathon – a nature lover – to a Christmas tree farm near his home. The farm also has animals to feed and tractors to wow the youngest tractor lovers.
He had a blast. But, my favorite picture is of this little guy walking ahead of us amidst towering Christmas trees while waving his arms and talking out loud to them. The outdoors speaks to him and he couldn’t help but respond.
While on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park a few weeks later, Ken and I and our friends, Howard and Alynn, passed by a mom, dad, and their young son. Inhaling the scents of the forest and enthralled by the wonder of nature, our souls were fed even more by this youngster.
Ken and Howard were a little ahead of us when they heard the boy genuinely exclaim, “This is life!”
Then as we brought up the rear and the family drew closer to us, the boy asked in a voice of wonder and hope, “Can I move here?”
His eyes were alight with joy as he embraced the place and how it made him feel.
I couldn’t help but respond, “Sure. And I’ll move here, too!”
Of course, it’s not possible to move to a national park. But the sights and sounds of such a place take up residence in us somehow. And that’s because it’s not simply ‘nature.’ It’s a manifestation of who God is.
The Bible tells us in Romans 1: 20, NIV, “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.”
Many other Scripture references attest to the intricacies and varieties of God’s creation. And, yet, we so often want to explain it away as ‘mother nature’ or the evolutionary theory. In reality, God has revealed himself through his creation so that we might be drawn to him – who is the more magnificent, awe-inspiring being behind creation.
And he longs to have a relationship with us.
We are given opportunities on every walk along a roadway where wild flowers grow; every hike into the mountains where waterfalls surprise us, awakening our senses; and, gazing into the night sky twinkling with endless stars to talk about our amazing creator God.
Nature exclaims his majesty. Let’s do the same and point our children to him. Selah
Fall Silent
Sometimes the only response to such beauty is
to fall silent in its presence.
Hush! And experience a song without sound,
a poem in motion…and yet still.
Intricate beauty on display.
“Everything was created through him and for him…
He holds all creation together.”
Colossians 1: 16 & 17
_________________________________________
After six years in the mountains of Avery County, Ken and Jan Merop are now living in the hilly Tennessee countryside of Cleveland, TN…just outside of Chattanooga. Ken’s photos can be seen at kenmeropphotography.com.
Read more Christian news from Ken and Jan HERE.
_________________________________________
