Seeing Creation

A little after 11:00 tonight autumn will officially begin.  I’d be more excited about that if they weren’t predicting a high of 94 degrees here tomorrow.  I’ve seen a number of recent news articles indicating that this summer has been the hottest one on record.  This fall may prove to be warmer than normal too.  Still, I have no doubt that the temperatures will soon be more comfortable (for me, anyway) and that the annual brilliant show of autumn colors will shortly begin to make an appearance.

The changing of the seasons is actually something God has promised.  In Genesis 8:22 it says, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”  This is the promise God gave to Noah following the Flood.  Much later the prophet Daniel would remind others that it is God who causes the seasons to change.  He said, “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes time and seasons…”  (Daniel 2:20-21)

Even further down the road the apostle Paul spoke of God being behind the changing seasons and how this bears witness to His goodness and faithfulness.  Speaking to a group in Lystra who thought he and Barnabas were Hermes and Zeus because they healed a crippled man, Paul said “turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.  In the past, he let all nations go their own way.  Yet he has not left himself without testimony.  He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

As the seasons change once again today we are reminded that God has ordered this and that it is part of His good plan for Creation.  We are also reminded that the One who consistently brings this cyclic succession is faithful and can be counted on.  This truly is the testimony of the seasons!

–Chuck

(The top image I took at Rocky Mountain National Park in late September.  The bottom picture of Maroon Bells was also taken in Colorado about the same season of the year.)

Summer is officially here, having arrived just two days ago.  It has felt like summer around here, however, for quite some time.  Where I live summer is characterized by the ”3 Hs”: Hot, Humid and Hazy.  The first two are dominating the scene right now.  

Summer is my least favorite season.  I find the heat terribly oppressive and draining.   It is not a time of year I find conducive to prayer (other than prayers that God will help me survive) but I came across a summer prayer earlier today that I like a lot and want to share with you.  It was written by James Vanden Bosch.

God of creation, God of the seasons, bless your creatures with seasons of delight.  Lord of the Sabbath, you have established the rhythms of life, establish in us also the rhythms for human prospering; grant us the good sense to enjoy Sabbath rest in this season.  Grant us, moreover, wisdom to know that there is a time to play, a time to cease from our labors, a time to sense majesty in a blue sky, richness in green grass, love in faithful friends, and joy in our being.  Grant us, then, blue skies this summer, and green grass; grant us faithful friends and the time, strength, and spirit for play.  Grant us the wit to know the goodness of this creation, which, blind, defiant, or ungrateful, we despoil.  Send our roots rain; our hearts ease, so that we may show in our lives that we can live rightly in this season of our lives and see it as if for the first time, in wonder, in awe, and in a spirit of thanksgiving. Amen.

I have a feeling Bosch must live somewhere like Rob where it doesn’t get that hot but I’m going to try to maintain the attitude of gratitude that this prayer calls forth despite the heat, humidity and haze.  If nothing else, I’ll give thanks for air conditioning!

–Chuck

(The image above was taken near Barren River State Park in central Kentucky.)