Awesome!

Just up the road from my house there is a Butterfly Nursery. When we go for our evening walks, we often stop and take a peek to see if the eggs have become a caterpillar, how big the caterpillar has become and how many are beginning to form their cocoon or chrysalis, the last phase before the metamorphosis is complete and a beautiful butterfly emerges. When I listen to Cindy, the keeper of the Butterfly Nursery, speak about this amazing transformation and watch it with my own eyes I am filled with wonder and awe at the amazing creation and the amazing Creator.

It hit me today as I was showing my friend a Monarch chrysalis that I was describing it as if it was a beautiful piece of jewelry. It looks like pale jade with flecks of gold that really sparkle. I was comparing God’s handiwork to a necklace that would be fashioned by the hands of a human. Instead of saying that necklace you are wearing reminds me of God’s handiwork, I had it backward. As if I was saying that God is making something as beautiful as a necklace. Perhaps that is because I have been in jewelry stores, but Butterfly nurseries are kind of new to me.

We have had the great pleasure of walking on sand that feels cool to our feet even with the sun beating down on it at high noon and the temperature upwards of 90 degrees. We have seen mountains so grand they take your breath away. We have heard the powerful sounds of Niagara Falls and witnessed the birth of children that possess our DNA, yet have a DNA of their own that matches nobody else in the universe. There are so many marvels of nature that are so far beyond my ability to grasp. I have experienced the awesome power and creativity of God in so many different ways that you would think I would stand in awe of His mighty power rather than fret about how I am going to get everything done today. Perhaps, it’s like I stated before. I have been in the jewelry store… or in the world… more than I have been in the presence of the Creator.

I have a strong hunch that I am not alone in this. You don’t have to look very far to see that we live in a culture that would rather look at a fictitious relationship growing on a television show than spend time building the relationships under their own roof. We have been in the world more than in the presence of the One who created us to live in relationship. We would rather let our kids occupy themselves with screen time then to introduce them to the marvel of creation and the wonder of the stars we see at night that are so far away that we are seeing light from a star that burned out long ago. We feed them daily, giving no thought to the miracle of a tiny seed turning into the food on our plates. We are creating a generation of humans who have no awe, no wonder at the world God created for them. We take it for granted, so they take it for granted. It is the way of humankind.

How very sad to know that, if we don’t correct this, our children will not know the Master of the Universe who desires to walk with them, talk with them, teach them, care for them. They will not stand in awe of His power and His love and His goodness. They will simply grow up to be another adult, trying to get by and get everything checked off of their list. David wrote a song of praise and within it, he reminded us to pass down the wonders of our God to the next generation. Do you have time for that? Are you too wrapped up in work or hobbies or friends or polishing the silver (is that even a thing??) to point them to the awesomeness of God and all that He has created?

Those who would call themselves the Christian community get all agitated about the fact that our children are learning about science and creation from the schools in a manner that goes against the creation story in Genesis. If we are teaching them about the amazing things God is doing on a daily basis (even if you have to google it… technology can be a very good thing) then we don’t have to worry so much about what they are learning at school. You are the primary influence in your child’s life if you choose to be. It is when we abdicate that responsibility that our children fall prey to the world’s way of thinking. So, do we have any right to condemn the science teacher for teaching the curriculum they are given if we are teaching nothing at all?

How about beginning a bedtime ritual where before you tuck them in, you tell them one fun fact about God’s amazing power and creation in an age appropriate manner. Tell them something miraculous that He has done. Living life with an attitude of gratitude will help them to know that Creator God is an awesome God. You don’t have to be a genius to ask Siri how fast a raindrop is going when it hits the ground, yet does no damage to a fragile rose petal on impact.

I want to be part of telling the next generation about the awesome God that I love and serve. I want them to be undaunted by a skeptical world because they have heard the truth of His greatness every day. I want them to be able to take a stand against a world that does not believe because they have heard day after day after day of an amazing Creator and His love for them. I stand with David in proclaiming that He is most worthy of praise! Will you join me in shaping the next generation to stand in awe of their God?

I will exalt you, my God and King,
    and praise your name forever and ever.
 ² I will praise you every day;
    yes, I will praise you forever.
³ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness.

⁴ Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
    let them proclaim your power.
⁵ I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
    and your wonderful miracles.
⁶ Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
    I will proclaim your greatness.
⁷ Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
    they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

Psalm 145

Looking Right

There is such a good lesson to learn in Psalm 13. David is miserable. He is feeling alone; feeling forgotten, defeated, depressed and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel. Through the years I have had so many people sit in my office feeling those same emotions. Truthfully, I have been there myself.

It happens due to struggling relationships, challenging family situations, illness, loss, financial crisis. And sometimes they all come crashing down on you so hard that you feel like you will never get up again. But, David shares with us what we need. “Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.”

Sometimes darkness overtakes us when life throws us a curve ball and a variety of things happen. Sometimes we look for someone to punch/blame/attack. We feel pain and someone has to take the fall for it. Or maybe we look inward and begin to blame ourselves and lament all the mistakes that we have made that have us saturated us in guilt and remorse. Sometimes we look to food or retail therapy or substances that temporarily help us forget the pain of life. But, David tells us exactly where we need to look. It may sound cliché, but David knew to look to the LIGHT that gives life.

Without the Light that comes from looking upward rather than inward or outward, we lose hope. We read books, we talk to a counselor, we spend time with our friends, we do a lot of good things to help us through the storms of life, but the best thing we can ever do is to look at God. He has the message that we need. He has the answer we need. He will open our eyes to see it, but we have to look in the right direction.

Once we get our focus on Him, our trust is restored. Sometimes it takes a while for His light to penetrate into our deepest pain, because we are human and enmeshed in our agony. But the hope will come if we keep looking to His light. It is then that we remember that He is always there and His love is everlasting. No matter what our situation, when we look to God, He will direct us to the path that will lead us to healing and redemption; to peace and joy. When our focus is on Him, we see that He is worthy of our praise and that is something that will never change.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13

He Holds Your Hand

When life is a nightmare and all we do is cry,

The struggles keep arising and we want to shout out, “WHY?”

We want to know the reason and we want to understand,

But all we really need to know is that God will hold our hand.

Your marriage is a mess and you want to say “good-bye,”

Even though you’ve done your best, your beloved just won’t try

They don’t even listen, or try to understand

But what we really need to know is, God will hold our hand.

Your heart is shattered with the news. It shouldn’t be this way.

Where is God and why are His responses so delayed?

This shouldn’t be the outcome of all those careful plans

But you must just remember that God will hold your hand.

The stack of bills is piling up and the money’s running out

You didn’t get the bonus, though you earned it, there’s no doubt

Your plans have changed so many times that you can barely stand

But remember that, no matter what, God will hold your hand.

The diagnosis isn’t good, the timing is all wrong

Courage hides its face from you and you just can’t be strong

Questions just keep coming like so many grains of sand

My friend, let me remind you, God will hold your hand

Life is unpredictable, no matter how we try

This broken world brings struggles and leaves us asking “WHY?”

That question has no answer, more times than we can stand

So we must hold on tightly to the God who takes our hand.

Jackie Brady

June 11, 2011