Seeing Creation

I have just spent a wonderful week photographing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  It was a great time away from the stress of moving into a new home and the usual pressures that come with being a minister.  Even more so, it was a great time to be out in the beauty of God’s Creation and to enjoy the splendor of autumn in the North Woods.  I have witnessed autumn in a number of locations all across North America and would concur with those who say autumn in the UP is hard to beat.

This was only my second trip to this region.  A friend I traveled with has been over thirty times.  One of the things that came up in many of our discussions was how various things had changed.  We hiked to one of the most popular waterfalls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and when we got to the platform designed for viewing the falls my friend was disappointed to discover that the trees in front of the falls had grown so tall that they basically blocked the view of the falls he remembers so fondly.  We stopped at another waterfall that both of us had visited on previous trips and were surprised to see that the falls had completely dried up.  Many times throughout the trip we were reminded that in nature things change.

Due to technological advancements the past couple of generations have experienced change at a far more rapid rate than those that went before them.  I remember as a kid marveling at Dick Tracy’s wrist radio transmitter.  Today the iPhone I carry in my pocket does far more than could have been imagined back in that day.  I have been photographing seriously about twenty-two years.  I marvel at how much has changed with cameras in that time.

The changes we have experienced in just the past few years is enough to make one’s head spin.  It is also enough to cause one to be unsettled.  How can one have any sense of peace or security in an ever changing world?  Some might answer that one cannot find either but I would suggest they are wrong.  More than ever I’m convinced that there is one place, or more accurately one person, where we can find a still point and a source of security and that is in God.

A passage that gives me both comfort and hope can be found in Psalm 46.  Here we are told “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.” (vs. 1-3)  Many times during this past week as I have contemplated changes in both nature and society I have given thanks for the refuge we find in God.  I have also reflected more than once on these words from my favorite hymn, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.  As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.”  In a world that is forever changing it is good to be able to point to and hold on to One who never changes.  Wouldn’t you agree?

–Chuck

(The images used above were taken this past week on my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.)

“All I have needed thy hand hath provided–great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.” –Thomas O. Chrisholm

On January 13 I posted a blog here called “God Will Provide.”  That was the date I resigned my position as pastor here in Pikeville.  When I resigned I had no other job waiting.  I simply knew it was time for me to leave here and felt I could trust God to provide me another place of service when the time was right.  This afternoon I received a call telling me that I have been selected to become the new pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Henderson, Kentucky.  I will begin my work there in May.  I am so very grateful for this opportunity and want to offer my heartfelt thanks to my heavenly Father for being the God who does, indeed, provide.

I am not going to say that I have had no anxious thoughts the past couple of months; my faith is not always what it should be.  Still, I can honestly say I knew that God would eventually open a door for me to serve elsewhere.  Both of God’s books, Creation and the Bible, point to a God who is faithful and good.  I cannot remember a time in my life that God has let me down.  I had no reason to believe He would now.

For those of you who don’t know, Henderson is in the western part of Kentucky.  It is located right across the Ohio River from Evansville, Indiana.  The geography there is quite different from what I’ve been used to the past twenty-four years.  For almost a quarter of a century I’ve lived and served in the hills of Appalachia.  I love these mountains immensely and will no doubt miss them.  Still, I look forward to exploring the natural areas in and around Henderson.  John James Audubon lived in Henderson for a while and there is a state park there named in his honor.  The area is also on a major flyway for migrating birds.  I have a feeling I’ll be doing a good bit of bird photography in the years to come.  Not far from Henderson there are a number of other state parks and a national forest.  There will be no shortage of places and things to explore on my days off.

One of the exciting things about moving to an area that differs geographically and naturally from the one you are used to is that it affords new opportunities to see God in His Creation.  Since I will be exposed to things there that I cannot see here, it only makes sense that I’ll obtain knowledge about God and Creation that I might not know otherwise.  Without a doubt, God is to be found as much in the rivers, lakes and sloughs of western Kentucky as the hills and valleys of the eastern region of the Bluegrass State.  I look forward to sharing with you what I discover there.

In the meantime, I encourage you to be aware of God’s presence wherever you happen to be.  Whether you experience God through Creation, the Scriptures or any other means God chooses, I hope you will always remember that He truly is the God who provides.

–Chuck

(I took the three pictures above at John James Audubon State Park when I was working on my book, Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit and Beauty.)

Fall has finally arrived in southeastern Kentucky.  It will be a while before we have any significant color in the foliage but the temperatures have dropped significantly and the feel of fall is in the air.  I love autumn and always have.  I have wonderful childhood memories of making huge piles of leaves and jumping into them.  I remember fall festivals at school and hayrides at church.  From my earliest days I have loved the colors of fall.  Every year I look forward to seeing leaves turn red, yellow, orange, brown and purple.  One of the blessings of living in the southern Appalachians is the glorious autumn display put on by our native hardwoods.

A few weeks ago Rob wrote about fall in southern California and how it, too, has its seasonal changes.  I guess most places do.  I’m very thankful, however, to live where the four seasons are quite distinct.  It adds variety and a sense of rhythm to the year.  It also provides a wonderful reminder of God’s faithfulness.

My favorite hymn is “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”  The second verse reads, “Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness, to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”  For the writer of this great hymn, and for me, the changing of the seasons bears witness to God’s faithful hand behind Creation. 

In Genesis 8 God promised Noah that He would maintain the changing seasons.  He told him, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”  As the temperatures have dropped this week and a few leaves have begun to present their fall colors, I am reminded one more time that the Creator of this world is still in control.  It makes me want to sing “Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!”  It also makes me want to go take some pictures…

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Kingdom Come State Park in southeastern Kentucky.)