Second Day of Thanks

Today I am thankful for the beauty of the world! Driving home from work the sky was filled with such a wonderful sunset - not grandiose and spectacular, but gentle and soft, pinks and blues and purples resting on every horizon. It felt as though the sky was almost close enough to touch, as though it were drawing near like the blanket you pull around yourself just before you drift off to sleep.

When I think about how every night there is another sunset, different from every other one that came before it, I am in awe of the God who crafted them. He didn't form the world merely so that it would function effectively; He designed it so that in the very act of performing those essential functions it would radiate with beauty and wonder.

So in addition to being thankful for all the beauty that fills creation, I am also thankful that our God is one who could and would create in the way that He did! He is truly wonderful - more beautiful than we can fully comprehend - and it is His beauty and wonder that is reflected in the world that He made.

Waiting for renewal

On my walk to work this morning I passed by a pigeon skeleton on the sidewalk. Ants had consumed the edible portions of the carcass, leaving only the bones (I know this because I passed it yesterday as well and it was swarming). I was a little repulsed by it, honestly; I walked past on the far side of the sidewalk. But I started thinking that death and all that goes with it - pain and decay, for instance - are just as much a part of nature as dewy leaves in the morning and golden sunsets in the evening. It's easy for me at least to focus on the good parts of nature: the beauty, glory, grandeur, and intricacy that reflect God's character and bear witness to Him. Now, I don't think that is a bad thing in general! However, if I forget that creation is fallen - that it is not the ultimate good, but is under the curse of sin even as I am - that is bad.

So when I see these very palpable reminders of the presence of sin and death in the world it should be a reminder to me that lasting hope and life can't be found in nature, no matter how much comfort or happiness I can find in it at any given time. Those things can only be found in God, in whom creation itself is hoping for redemption and renewal with us, and the One who created and gave us nature is the One I ought to be looking to for my needs and hoping in for my future.