Seeing Creation

This weekend I had the privilege of taking part in a retreat sponsored by the Green Chalice, an environmental group which is part of the Christian Church in Kentucky.  The retreat was held at Rough River Dam State Park in western Kentucky.  It will not surprise you to learn that I took my camera with me.   I knew this was not the prettiest time of the year but was hoping I might still find something to photograph.

When I got to the park things were pretty barren.  What made matters worse is that there have been a lot of houses built around the lake which is the centerpiece of the park.  It quickly entered my mind that it was probably a waste bringing all my camera gear. 

When I walked down to the lake shore Friday afternoon the light was nice but it seemed like everywhere I pointed my camera there was a house in the picture.  Eventually I spotted a cedar tree sitting atop a rock cropping and pointed my lens upward so that no houses could be seen.  The image above was the result.   The following morning I got up for sunrise and discovered that a heavy fog had settled on the lake.  As a result the houses on the lake could not be seen.  This enabled me to get the image below of the same tree.

Reflecting on my photographic experience at Rough River Dam S.P., I was reminded that there are a lot of things that can distract us from seeing the beauty of God’s handiwork.  At times we will have to work hard to find and take in the beauty that is there.  At other times we may just have to wait for conditions to change.

This parallels my experience with God.  Although God is always there many times I find it hard to “see” Him due to all of the distractions in my life.  I’ve learned that if I will discipline myself to “look upwards” so that the distractions are removed it increases the chance of my experiencing God in that moment.  There are other times, however, when seeing God is not difficult at all.  It’s almost like He graciously removes all distractions.  I have to admit that the former is my more common experience; it usually involves some effort on my part to see and experience God.  I do not complain this is so because either way it is a miracle to me that the Maker of heaven and earth desires to make Himself known to us.  He truly is an awesome God!

–Chuck