All creatures great and small.
Guest Writer: Leckie Conners
“Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.”—Psalm 104:25.
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, Page Jordan
The natural world is a Giver of many blessings. I am grateful to Joanna for featuring guest writers who share ways they receive them, as well as for writing of her own impressions and appreciation. I reflect here on one way that I, too, am blessed and taught by Nature.
I love an outing along a shoreline, into a range of majestic mountains, or even into the wooded wetlands behind my house. No matter how many times I’ve had similar ventures, there’s a sense of surprise and wonder at the beauty encountered, the profound peace filling the heart, and ultimately the lessons available. When it’s time to return to my more hectic world of human-made structures and systems, I hope to carry some of these gifts with me.
One recurring revelation, which I’ll be processing for a lifetime, is the value God imparts to the small and unseen. We mortals so readily believe that bigger is better and, especially, that the more attention something or someone receives (from HUMANS, of course!), the greater the importance. And yes, God’s hand is at work in the large and magnificent: the vastness of oceans, dizzying heights of mountains, and wide expanses of canyons and starlit skies. These places have their lessons to offer and awe to inspire.
Yet sometimes my eye will fall on a tiny insect with an amazing pattern and array of colors. So small! So short lived! So unlikely to ever be seen by even one human in that brief lifetime! In our endless universe, how many more things must there surely be like this? Why has God invested such artistry in the small, especially if no one will ever pay it any attention?
It’s embarrassing to find myself consistently amazed by such sightings, illustrating one of the ways we limit our image of God and puff up our own sense of importance.
I am reminded that God’s eye is on the sparrow.
God spoke to Elijah, not in a mighty wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a still, small voice. Jesus’ ministry and even miracles are carried out quietly.
What does this tell me? For starters, that big, loud, and popular are not the measures of value. That everything and everyone receives the full scope of God’s Love and care – and thus should receive the same from me.
What else can I learn and incorporate into how I see and live?
Leckie Conners
North Carolina
Blue Flower with Dew. Surprise Flower. Oregon Page Jordan