I'm on my porch this morning, sitting on my chaise lounge chair, a cold tea on the table beside me and all I hear are the different bird sounds echoing in my woods. What a conversatio
n they are having. The sky is blue with soft, billowy clouds moving slowly across the sky and I can smell the sweet fragrance of the pink, fluffy flowers on my mimosa tree while the leaves dance slowly in the breeze. Maybe it's true what they say...."almost heaven, West Virginia."It's a good thing to stop everything. Stop working, stop talking, stop moving, just sit for a minute and look around. We need to realize that this is a way to praise God for his blessings. Do we really think God did all this, made all this, just because he didn't have anything else to do? He did this for us, for our pleasure.
How dare we stomp out to the car every morning on our way to work and not even notice the different colors of green in the trees. It's shameful of us to be so busy cleaning, running, working to not notice that God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, the Giver of all good things put that flower there for us. He made the grass green and soft to walk on, He made the hard, resilient trunks of trees to hold up those branches of shade for us, He made the sweet, juicy apples, peaches, oranges to give us nourishment and pleasure to our taste buds, and gave the plants and flowers aroma for us to enjoy.
When we go through our days ignoring the beauty that surround us, the magnificance that God has created, we are ignoring the blessings of the Creator. How ashamed I am for snubbing my Father, for grumbling when the grass needs mowed, for grumbling when we have to prune our trees, for making snide remarks when it's too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry. We always look down our noses at the children of Israel and are so amazed at them for grumbling about every. little. thing., while we complain about every. little. thing.
Jesus, forgive us all for being complaining, unthankful, ungrateful people, and help us to stop. Help us to stop everything for just a moment, look around, and find the beauty surrounding us every single day.
I'm guessing all that melodius sound coming from my woods, all that chirping, singing, and twittering could be praises, songs of thanks for all the things we overlook in nature.
Psalms 148
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. 4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 5. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. 6. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. 7. Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 8. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 9. Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10. Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11. Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12. Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 13. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. 14. He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
