Since we haven’t lived in our home country for a LONG time, my husband and I decided to go on a road trip… one that would enable us to reconnect with family and friends who are scattered from literally one coast to the other — and lots of places in-between.
We’ve been on the road for three weeks now, and the past few days we’ve “oohed” and “ahhed” our way from Colorado to Idaho and now to Montana. The scenery is breathtaking. Awe inspiring. Overwhelming at times. My attempts to capture what my eyes are drinking in are futile — and yet I keep snapping away on my phone’s camera, trying to digitally record the sights.
With so many hours in the car, we’ve had a lot of time to talk. To listen to music. To simply stare out the window. We even started listening to War and Peace, a novel neither of us had read but figured the 60+ hours of narration would help to pass the time, especially on some of the long stretches of highway we’ve been on.
As we’ve been driving, I’ve tried to imagine what the world looked like when it was first created. When it was perfect, unmarred by human negligence. Untainted by greed. Unspoiled by buildings and traffic. To me, even the imperfections I see are stunning in their beauty.
I wondered out loud what God must think when we take time to marvel at His creation. Does it brings Him joy? Does He expect us to notice what He made? Does it hurts Him to see what a mess we’ve made of things due to littering, pollution, overpopulation, taking advantage of this habitat in which we live?
My husband’s response surprised me. Made me think.
He used an analogy of someone painting or sculpting or building or writing or knitting something. Something the person put a lot of time, energy, and effort into. Something that reflects the person’s heart, interests, intentions.
And no one notices.
No one takes the time to see — really see — what was created.
No one appreciates the effort, the skill, the love that motivated the project.
Instead… the painting was destroyed. The sculpture broken. The building torn down. The writing trashed. The knitting unraveled.
No one acknowledged the maker.
God’s Word (aka the Bible) talks about how the heavens themselves declare or proclaim His craftsmanship, the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1). How He has displayed His splendor, His majesty, which is higher than the heavens (Psalm 8:1)!
When I look out the window of the home where we’re staying, I see snow-covered mountains. And I am reminded of Psalm 121…
I look up to the mountains — does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
Yep! This is quite the road trip! But one in which I’m daily being reminded that there’s a God who intentionally has made this world in which I live. A God who knows all that is happening in our world — and isn’t surprised. A God who has a plan for you and for me — a plan that ultimately is for good, His good and mine.
And that, my friends, brings me joy in the journey of this thing called “Life!”
Joy in the Journey 