How Great Thou Art

I love this photo from the pasty.com website showing one of Upper Michigan's countless lakes, surrounded by endless forests, it seems. This one is near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. What an expansive and heavenly environment. And what a reminder of the vastness of this earth--this good earth, "our island home", as the Book of Common Prayer puts it. No place I know of is any more beautiful than the Keweenaw in autumn.

And, people there are often poor, they struggle to earn livings, to survive the harsh winters, to stay true to their culture and yet integrated to the rest of American society. For all the natural beauty surrounding them, they must be as anxious as the rest of us these days.

My teenage years were spent living between Grand Traverse Bay and Torch Lake in northwest lower Michigan. From my bedroom windows I could see the Bay and Old Mission Peninsula beyond. Beauty everywhere, especially when the cherry trees in the vast orchards were blooming and filling the air with their breath-taking scent. An ideal place to be, you'd think.
But, I was a teenager; I had been torn from my former home involuntarily at age 12, because my father wanted or needed to start over in a new place. For most of those years, I rarely noticed the beauty. We all took it for granted. I couldn't wait to leave home, feeling caged and oppressed and lonely there. Things were, and generally are, both/and. And the eyes of our hearts and minds must be open to see the greatness that surrounds us.

Well, what's my point tonight? I'm not exactly sure. As I write this, many of you are probably watching the last presidential debate. And I find myself wanting to focus on nature. Noticing the mystery of God's creation helps deepen my faith and trust. Somehow all shall be well.

In the next two days I will be spending time with two sets of children whom I love and whose parents are dear to me. These kids will have their hands full when they grow up, but I hope and pray we will heal some of the damage we've caused--to the earth, to one another, to ourselves. I will remember the old hymn, my grandmother's favorite, "How Great Thou Art!" and I will take heart.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Thanks for stopping by. Breathe, listen, look, laugh, love and you might consider praying, too!