Tag: nature

It’s the Little Things

Published on by marycatherinethomasLeave a comment

“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.” Luke 12:27 (NLT)

As we drove in from church today, I mentioned to Dale that our yard is a sea of dandelions after the rain we have had off and on this past week. They are a part of summer and like gray hairs, if you pull one, six more will show up.

After dinner, I went to walk. The air was a bit cooler than earlier and it was refreshing to be outside. Flies and bees were floating around, dive bombing the bushes and weeds.

Across the driveway, I looked at the woods.

This view always fascinates me. It is a small incline that gently slopes into the woods. I am always half expectant to see a bear come walking up there, but know that would not be possible during the day time as there is too much activity in the area.

I looked at the grouping of dandelions across the road. They were bunched together and I actually did thank the Lord for them.

My walk habit is to walk up our driveway and make a sweeping turn by this view. As I turned to go back down our driveway, something caught my eye (no, it was not a bear). I saw a glimpse of purple in the midst of the yellow.

On my return to the end of the driveway I went across to examine more closely what I thought I saw. There at the top of a stem was a little purple flower. We tried to take a picture of it, me, several times and then I had Dale come out to try. We ended up picking the flower and trying once it was plucked and in a vase of water.

The result is a bit fuzzy, but this flower, 3/8 of an inch, was beautiful. A lavender color on the petals and bright yellow in the stamen. The detail was exact, a perfect little blossom.

I looked at this tiny flower. It was hard to see while walking. Driving by it would be missed completely. To see it, you have to stop and look closely. Yet, God, the ultimate artist, created a small detail in nature, knowing it would be unnoticed except for a lady bug or bee.

God is a careful creator. He takes the small things, things we mostly think are insignificant and He makes them beautiful. He does this in nature, and He does this for each of us.

Praise in all Things

Published on by marycatherinethomasLeave a comment

“For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12 (NKV)

The subject of praise has been rattling around in my mind for the past few days. The definition of praise is to extol, exalt, admire a deity.

I love to praise the Lord. It is a part of each service that I look forward to. When I listen at home I find myself lifting my hands and praising where I am and with what I am doing. It is a part of my life, and I am so grateful for a relationship with God that I can honor Him.

As I have thought about this today, I have felt like I have not been in a place of praise. I have felt quiet and moody, almost. As I walked today I asked the Lord what was wrong with me.

I felt that what I needed was to be still. Once more that word I contend with. I had an image of curling up on a lap, a soft quilt wrapped around me and allowing everything in me to unwind. As I imagined myself like this, I reflected that curling up on my Creator’s lap was in itself a form of worship. I would be giving up and unwinding, allowing Him, to envelope me in His presence. Like I used to do with my girls when they were little, I would grab a quilt, wrap them up completely and sit and rock them. I would hold them and gently sing to them. They would hear my voice and the rhythm of my breath and snuggle in for rest.

This is my goal for me, to climb up into our Father’s lap with my blankie and listen for His breath and His song over me. Like all of nature that praises and dances for our Lord, this will be my offering to the King of Kings.

Dance of the Fireflies

Published on by marycatherinethomasLeave a comment

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4 (NKJV)

We live in a rural area. It is so rural that in order to carry on a conversation on our cell phones we need to be near a window. I usually go to our guest room and stand by the window to talk. Tonight was no different.

It was dusk when I called a friend in California. We have been friends for a very long time and I knew I would need the window to talk for any length of time. We laugh about this thing with our phones, we say the squirrels have to work overtime to keep our phone and internet working.

As I said, it was dusk when I called. I opened the curtains in the guest room and as we talked and caught up with each other I gazed out the window. There are times when looking out that I see things I don’t normally notice. Tonight was one of those times. At one point I saw a doe coming out of the woods across the street. I mentioned this and then realized that trailing behind her were twin fawns. They were so light in color, and couldn’t be too old, really. They dutifully followed their Mama across the street into our yard and then the fawns started to run up along side their mom. It was so precious to see, even though I knew they were most likely heading to our berry bushes and grapevines. The absolute freedom and joy they displayed while following their mom brought a smile to my face.

All through the conversation I watched the flickering of the fireflies, lightening bugs as I called them as a child. It looked to me like they were dancing throughout the yard. Some close to the ground and some up high. It was a dance like I haven’t observed in a while.

The thought that stayed with me throughout the conversation was how nature dances and rejoices in the Lord. His creation sings and dances and praises Him. How blessed I am to get a glimpse of His glory while catching up with a friend. God is so good.