Be Still and See [seeing God]

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“But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse,” Romans 1:19-20

“Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out,” Romans 11:33.
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I’d been on this road trip before, the 10:00 p.m. winter scurry out to the drive-through Rite-Aid to pick up a script for a sick child. Driving at night is quiet and opens doors to reflection. I had the sense that God was calling me to thankfulness in this trip. I could rattle off too easily the list of reasons to be annoyed, but where would that get me—growing in impatience and self centeredness? Probably. No thanks. But for once I was able to see it. I had turned to thanksgiving first, not as a reluctantly pulled response. There was no pack of complaints hiding just below the surface eagerly awaiting their opportunity to announce their sadistic presence. This was true thanksgiving.

Gratefulness, in that moment, seemed easy. A working vehicle to get me to the medicine, money to buy the available medicine, doctors who took care of my boys, insurance to prevent us from sinking under the weight of any medical costs, sickness far more infrequent than it had been in previous years….the list kept coming. As I waited in the drive-through I noticed it was starting to snow. A gentle but persistent snow was blanketing the roads and my car. It was taking an unusually long time for the pharmacy tech to get the script and rather than think of all the things I could/should be doing in this waiting time, I just sat watching the snow.

Tonight the snow was more magical than I had ever seen or noticed in my life. Corny, I know, but it was. All the conditions were coming together perfectly for each snow flake to stand out, as if to say ‘look at me, see how pretty I am!’ as they landed on my car. They didn’t all clump or melt together but remained frozen in their beauty in each spot they landed. My breath was taken away by their uniqueness and exquisiteness. God had been calling me to be still and find Him. Why would God dump all this beauty out when most people would never even get a chance to see it? It would be melted by morning. Since then, my pastor, Joe Duke, reminded us one Sunday morning how extravagant the grace and love of God is. He said, ‘God doesn’t mind being wasteful; he grows millions of wild flowers on the backs of mountains that no one will ever see. There is nothing stingy about our God.’

When I got home I knew I had to share this with the boys. One at a time, I went to retrieve each one, some sleeping, some not. I wrapped them in a blanket and took them out to see the miracle in each one of these perfectly unique and exquisite stand out snow flakes. Only one of them got to see the actual individual frozen snow flake before they all started melting. (no photo time either!) But it didn’t matter, they could sense my excitement at what God was showing me and they wanted to be a part. I snuggled them close and we watched the snow as I reminded each boy how uniquely crafted he was and how God pours His love and grace, wastefully on us. He’s not afraid to waste precious creations on His kids He’s madly in love with.

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"Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank You, High God---You're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made!" Psalms 139:13-14

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God," 1 John 3:1 NIV.

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