Blog – Page 5

Canyons and Snowflakes

December 13, 2016

When visiting the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, I was overcome by the vastness of the canyon and awed by the beauty of the rock layers. Yet, I felt a twinge of sadness too, as I realized this huge hole in the earth’s crust was a result of destruction and erosion brought about by the Great Flood in Noah’s day. Therefore, it was caused by man’s sin. I wondered how much more beautiful the earth would have been before the Flood.

I experienced similar thoughts and feelings more recently while enjoying stunning scenery in the Mammoth Mountains in California. However, the sadness dissipated when a still, small voice pointed out something I had not thought of: when God originally created the world, He designed it so that even after thousands of years of destruction and erosion, there would still be beauty remaining to delight our eyes in the twenty-first century. He had even prepared for the destruction and erosion with love.

When I arrived home for the holidays less than an hour in advance of a huge twenty-four-hour, ten-plus-inch snowstorm, I was thankful for God’s perfect timing, and for friends and family members who kindly gave me rides so I wouldn’t have to drive in the snow. However, I was not thrilled to see Winter arriving in full force.

Later, as I sat looking out my window, I realized the changing seasons are another result of the Great Flood. Before the Flood, there was no such thing as snow. The Flood caused the earth’s axis to tilt, and that tilt causes the changing seasons. In Genesis 8:22, after the waters subsided and Noah’s family came out of the Ark, God declared, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” “So,” I thought, “snow is a result of sin, just like canyons and mountains that were formed by erosion.”

Then came this thought: when God created water, He designed those molecules so that when they froze in the air, no two crystals would be alike. He provided for beauty and wonder, thousands of years before the molecules would have occasion to freeze or crystallize. This was for us, not for Adam and Eve.

How awesome is that? Every snowflake is a sparkling little message of God’s amazing grace and unending love, telling us that when He created the world, He had us in mind. Also, the clean, white new-fallen snow brings to mind that He made all things new and has washed us clean. He could have made snow very ugly as a constant reminder of sin. Instead, he chose to design it so it would shine and sparkle, and remind us of His kindness toward us.

I still don’t love snow; I’m thankful I can winter where it’s warm and sunny. But now when I’m here in the Midwest and I see those flakes swirling around, instead of being annoyed I’ll be praising God, remembering that when He created the universe thousands of years ago, He thought of me.

Serendipity Saturday

November 28, 2016

Serendipity:“the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”

After a very productive but relaxed Saturday morning, I still had a few more computer tasks, so I took my laptop to the living room for a change of scenery. The blinds were open and I saw the couple across the street putting up their Christmas lights. I turned on my lamp and started to work. Soon the neighbor, having seen that I was home, came to my door with an invitation to the Christmas lighting block party on Sunday afternoon.

Thinking my house would look pretty forlorn among all the lighted homes, I asked the Lord, “Do I really want to go to Target at noon on the Saturday after Thanksgiving?” The answer seemed to be yes. When else would I be able to put up the lights before the party? Not at night, in the dark! And not Sunday morning. I would be at church all morning from 8:30 on, followed by orchestra rehearsal in the afternoon.

The Target parking lot was full, and so was the store. After selecting the lights, I saw a cute little fox and thought a Knox’s fox would fit perfectly between the two bushes I planned to decorate. The check-out lady asked, “Did you find everything you were looking for?” I replied that I had. Then I “just happened” to mention that I should have bought an extension cord, too, but I guessed I would come back later if I needed it. She scanned my purchases and said, “You should probably get it now. If you spend $19 more on Christmas stuff, you’ll be eligible for $50 off.” For another $22 I bough a cord and timer, and saved $50.

Turned out I did need the cord. When hooking the strings od lights together, it looked like I would need still another cord. But before running to the store, I asked, “Lord, is there some way to do this without another cord?” There was! So, three hours after leaving the house, I finished the job. I realize it isn’t very creative or artistic, and next year I’ll start a little earlier and do a better job. But I had lights when it came time to turn them on along with the rest of the neighbors.

When I went back inside, I looked again at the invitation, and saw I was to bring a lawn chair. I realized my lawn chairs were in the back of my car – in my garage in Illinois! Several possible ideas came to mind, none very good. Then a very gentle voice said, “Ask your neighbors if you can borrow one from them.” That conversation yielded not only the loan of a chair, but also a nice chat and an opportunity to get to know the neighbors better.

As I reflected on the day, I thought about all the serendipities, and how perfectly all the timing worked out. Oh, and by the way, unbeknownst to me, the fox was a very sought-after item and I got the last one. This little fox will not spoil the vine. Instead, he will remind me that God is interested in every detail of my life, even Christmas lights.

Faith, Patience, and Autumn Leaves

October 27, 2016

Fall is in full swing here in the Midwest. We’re being treated to a continually changing display of bright red, orange, and gold foliage. Do you know what causes leaves to turn from green to these brilliant colors? The answer is fascinating. Throughout the tree’s growing season, every leaf contains yellow, orange, and sometimes red pigments, as well as the green ones called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll gives leaves their deep green color in the summertime and plays a very important role in photosynthesis, the food-making process that feeds the tree.

This summer, I tried to visualize all those autumn colors already being in the dark green leaves of the trees outside my window; but though I knew the colors were there, they were hard to picture because I couldn’t see them. The green chlorophyll completely blocked all the other colors.

Then shorter days and cooler temperatures signaled the leaves to stop making food. They began losing that intense green and took on a translucent appearance. Because the trees won’t need food during their winter dormancy, as the chlorophyll broke down, it was not replenished. As more of the green pigment disappeared, all the other colors became visible.

Of course there’s a life lesson here. My high school students often accused me of finding a lesson in everything, but this one is pretty obvious. Those colorful pigments were there all the time, but we couldn’t see them. Likewise, whatever situations we may be facing right now, underneath the circumstances there is unseen goodness and beauty waiting to be revealed. In Hebrews 6:12 we are told that through faith and patience we inherit the promises. What promises? For one, that God is behind the scenes working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). We need faith to believe this, and patience to let Him work it out.

I have a situation right now that, while not earth-shattering, has required me to exercise faith and patience. The flooring that was to be installed in my condo on October 17 was discovered to be faulty – after the workers had removed the carpeting from the dining room and half the living room! It turns out that an entire factory run of material has the same problem and has had to be recalled. The manufacturers think there is something wrong with their machinery.

Since I’m leaving for my winter quarters in Arizona two weeks from today, I’ll have to wait till I come home for Christmas to have the new flooring installed. This is not a big thing in the overall scheme of life, but the cement-slab floor décor and spare bedroom piled with books, furniture, and installers’ materials and equipment were not what I had envisioned for my last two weeks at home. I had pictured the new floor in place and all the furniture and other items back where they belonged. Does this look like a guest room where you would like to stay?

Just like the beautiful autumn colors that were hidden by chlorophyll in the leaves outside my windows, there is gold hidden in this situation, waiting to be revealed in its season. Good will ultimately come out of this, because that’s how God is. I’ll let you know when I discover it!

I can’t help but keep thinking of Psalm 138:8 which says, “The Lord will perfect all that concerns me.” Because the floor in my condo concerns me, through faith and patience I will inherit that promise, too. Not just finished, put perfected!

Judy A. Knox — “Discovering God’s Goodness in Everyday Life”

Love Triangle in the Southern Sky

September 3, 2016

Mother nature is putting on a show! Tonight if the sky is clear, go out during the evening between 8:00 and 10:00 and face south-southwest. You’ll see a triangle of three stars. Well, only one of them, the one on the bottom of the triangle, is actually a star. Its name is Antares and it’s in the constellation Scorpius.

The reddish-colored one on the top left is the planet Mars. The one on the top right is the planet Saturn. This configuration will change slightly from night to night because planets change their positions in relation to the stars and each other. This is why they’re called planets, which means “wanderers.” A week or so ago, these three objects formed a perpendicular line, but our sky here in the Chicago area was cloudy, so I missed that. Within the next few nights, watch the crescent moon gradually come into the picture as well.

You may notice that Mars and Saturn don’t twinkle the way Antares does. That’s because planets don’t produce their own light. Like the moon, they reflect light from the sun. Stars are like our sun, big balls of fire, which causes them to twinkle. I have always enjoyed the study of astronomy – not the scientific part so much as just knowing the patterns and watching their movements through the course of the year. The five planets that are visible to the naked eye are fascinating to observe. Once you know they’re the ones that don’t twinkle, they’re easy to spot.

Genesis 1:14 tells us God put the stars in the sky to be a sign for seasons. The movements of the planets are so predictable that scientists can tell us right now where each one can be seen on any future date. This predictability of “sun moon and stars in their courses above”* reminds me of God’s faithfulness. The beauty of the heavenly objects speaks of his love for us. Even in the night sky we can discover God’s goodness in everyday life.

*Song: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by William M. Runyan, verse 3