“If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so mean as not to show forth and represent the goodness of God.”Thomas A’Kempis
My heart must be very bent. I struggle to see the beauty in a thousand -legger. We moved into our house last October. The first time I saw one my heart skipped a beat. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. They are fast. Really fast. I guess I’d be fast too if I had a thousand legs. (I know it’s not REALLY a thousand legs….just seems that way!) I had not seen any in our last two homes. After the sighting, I directly went to Jeff and said, “We need to move.” I realized that was a rash decision. I took a few minutes and decided we could try something else first…an exterminator. Jeff wasn’t too keen on this solution either. So, I went to the internet to find out how I could rid our homes of these little beasts. Not such a good idea. It did not help me one bit to see page after page of thousand-leggers…in color! I had a really hard time sleeping that night.
I look at all of creation and see the incredible imagination of God. He is the source of the creative spirit. The shapes; large, small, miniscule, fluid. The colors, violet, maize, robin egg blue, scarlet. The textures; skin, scales, fur, hide. The legs: two, four, six, thousands. You get my drift.
No matter how I feel about a particular creature, it is a God –creation, made just the way He intended. I know He loves thousand-leggers. I’m just not there yet.
Enjoy His creation today.
Peace,
Deb
2 comments:
I had to laugh at your vivid depiction of the creepy thousand legger. I'm not too fond of them myself and bugs don't really bother me.
Reflecting on God's creation though...I grew up in a serene and very peaceful setting down near the Brogue =) I hated the connotations that went along with that name but I loved the vast fields around my house nestled in its own little valley. Neighbors weren't much of an issue there and the beauty of God's creativity is still impressive. My bedroom overlooked the pasture and the pond and the sounds of nature were always soothing to me. I never thought I could live in a city of any kind, especially if it meant no green space to myself and neighbors on top of me.
But as I've aged I've come to realize that the little things can be enough to remind me of the beauty of God's love for us. I can sit on my front porch and enjoy the giant pine tree across the street despite the traffic. Or appreciate the smell of the jasmine vine as it blooms in the summer heat. The incredible design of each thing or person he has ever created never ceases to blow my mind. If he overwhelms me with the details of his creation how could I ever presume to understand his workings and direction in my life? What a relief to know that our creator (and not me) is in charge.
Oh, I am with you on the thousand legger critter, not real fond of them myself. But I have tried to see God in everyone that I see. When I stop to think about that we are all created in His image, I start seeing others differently. And sometimes that is hard for me, especially when I am waiting in a long, long line, and my patience is gone...hehe. I started, while in a doctor's office waiting to be seen, looking around at each person and I say a prayer for each person. I know that may be something small, but for me it is a beginning.
Post a Comment