When Angels and Serpents Dance

I wanted to give a word of hope and encouragement to everyone this new year. Beloved, it is a dark time, but there is also hope. I want for just a moment to forget the grimness of the public news, the faithlessness of the Church and the evil that our leaders are doing. For a moment, my brothers and sisters, let us not dwell on the evil, but let us think of the sheer magnificence of our God.

I find my true worship of the Creator in His creation. I will never cease to marvel at the inexplicable beauty that surrounds me when I do nothing more than sit quietly in my backyard. Each blade of grass is bright and full of life. The tiny wildflowers are filled with such variations of color: purple clover, white asters, yellow buttercups. The soft, cloud-like beds of rich green clover act like cushions for my pleasure. Slightly beyond me are trees, both great and slight. A sugar maple provides delicious shade as well as a treat for the eye: it's vibrant green leaves seem to glow in the sunshine. God masterful paintbrush made all that I see, specifically for my enjoyment. Each vein in each blade of grass God crafted. Every grain of pollen in every flower that I behold, God deliberately placed.

This is the creation I enjoy by day; at night there is a stark change, but the magnificence is just at strong. The cool air dazzles me with aromas of closing flowers, the oncoming of dew, and perhaps the smell of someone's charcoal grill burning. My eyes no longer dwell on the ground, but on the sky. I gaze at the thousands of stars twinkling their wishes at me. When I am fortunate, I trace the constellations' patters amid the glittering specks. On the horizon the moon begins to rise, casting it's silvery glow upon the earth. God put every star in it's place. He designed the shapes in the sky and created the ever deepening blue space behind them. God fixed the moon so that it would circle the earth in the exact place that it is and allowed us some enjoyment by it's cycle.

Then comes my personal favorite, the beauty of a storm. Watching the mighty lightning flash across the sky in a brilliant instant, followed by the loud and deep rumble of thunder. Sweet rain fills my lungs as my ears are spoiled with the delicate dance of the droplets. I watch puddles slowly build and the battling of rings as many drips enter the water. The plants gleam with the slick coating of rain. I cannot help but be enraptured in the way God chooses to water the earth. His everlasting provision for every living thing in His creation never ceases to amaze me.

All this beauty. All this wonder. God made His creation for us to enjoy. I haven't even touched on the marvels of music, thought, and man himself. When you look at the intricacy in God's creation, there is little thought as to "how" God is handling everything else, but you can rest in the knowledge that God IS in control.