Seeing Creation

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

While on my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest I spent some time photographing in the Hoh Rain Forest found within Olympic National Park.  While taking pictures of a beautiful scene a woman walked up to me and said, “It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?  Just like something out of the movie Avatar.”  I responded in some polite fashion but after she left I found myself thinking that her thought processes were a bit backwards.  She was comparing the glorious beauty of God’s Creation with a high tech animated world from a hit movie.  It would seem that any worthy comparison would have to start first with Creation.  Perhaps this is simply a sign that we live in a world where reality and fantasy often overlap.

Later I thought some more about the woman’s comment.  I got the impression that it would take something as stunning as the Hoh Rain Forest to evoke awe in this individual.  I have a feeling that she is not used to seeing the beauty in her everyday surroundings.  This, of course, is a problem for a lot of people.  We are too busy to really take notice of the wonders of Creation all around us.  Or perhaps we are unwilling to look closer.

With these thoughts in mind I walked outside my house this afternoon and took three of the pictures you see here.  In the top picture what might look like an astral background in the movie Avatar is actually a close up image of a morning glory next to my house.  The second image that resembles a lunar landscape is the top of a mushroom growing beside my driveway.  The orb weaver to the left has been hanging out (literally) at our pool house for several weeks.   I guess she can represent the scary creatures we typically see in fantasy movies.    The bird photograph below was taken this past Saturday.  As we prepared to go swimming we noticed an alien creature stalking the pool.  Turned out it was only an immature green heron.  A friend told me the bird was migrating and likely stopped by the pool to see if there were any fish in it.

I enjoyed the movie Avatar and was encouraged by its environmental message.  The visual imagery was stunning.  Still, when it comes to beauty and excitement, I’ll take the wonderful world God has already given us any day.  For those with eyes to see, nothing can compare to God’s handiwork!

–Chuck