Ordinary Joy - Pt 2

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1-6 ESV).

There some things in life that are so consistent that they beg to be taken for granted. A sunrise or sunset is one of those things. The skies of North Texas are often ablaze with the brilliant handiwork of God as the sun rises or sets. Perhaps it’s like that everywhere and I simply have more time to notice it here at home. What I know with certainty is that “beauty,” wherever we find it, would be one of those ordinary things. Life is a blend of beauty and mystery. We see the beauty of life in the waves of the ocean crashing ashore, in the rain cascading down in a thunderstorm, and in seeing shafts of the sun streaming through the trees while hiking in woods. We can see it everywhere, all the time. Perhaps we simply have grown too “ground focused.” By “ground focused” I mean we spend most of the time walking our journey looking at our feet. I suppose that is a natural position when we have been beaten down with the constant hardship of life. Our concentration moves from tomorrow to now easily in those times. We have come to believe that it is our personal strength that will allow us to take that “one more step.” It is not. If it were, we would be a people without hope. You see, while we see the beauty of the created world, we are in a position of yearning for eternity. We long for something that transcends time. We sense there is something more than just this life. It is innately present in our lives. I stayed up to see the Lunar eclipse and the resulting blood moon last Monday. It was cold with a blustery wind, which meant I was going to be going in and out of the warmth of my home. However, I was not disappointed with the clarity of the event. We live in the country with very little ambient light from other buildings or street lights which made it all the more easy to observe the celestial event. I remember thinking how this is possible and quickly dismissed the thought of doing the research. I’m sure that a quick search of the internet would have provided more information than I could have digested; however, I would have reached the same ultimate conclusion that the “how” is rooted in the will and power of God. Here’s the point… since God did that, is there really anything so hard for him to do elsewhere in my life? That thought gave me joy; and, that came from simply seeing the beauty surrounding me! It is a part of ordinary joy!