Thursday, February 21, 2008

Lunar Eclipse


Did anyone see the lunar eclipse last night? Now, I’ll have to admit, in my younger days (not that I’m very old now, thankyouverymuch) I was not concerned with anything that involved me going outside and looking at the moon for an hour. Hello? A girl had better things to do like paint her toe nails or wash her hair.

But, last night, after I had put the girls into bed, I went outside several times (in 5 degree (f) weather, might I add) to marvel at God’s amazing handy work. Seriously! How perfectly timed – the moon passing in the Earth’s shadow. He planned it all. He knew it before he did it! And these marvels and miracles are the sort of things that I consistently take for granted. I’m busy --- too busy to stop and see God’s wonderful creation.

My Hubby and I have often had the discussion of wondering why God seemed to show himself to the people in the Bible more than us today. Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s still working! Y’all, I believe he’s still performing miracles everyday. But we’ve cluttered our lives so much with outside influences that most times, we can't see or hear him anymore . . . the T.V., cellphones, internet, video games, running here and there. In biblical times, those people dedicated a certain amount of time per day to be with God -- in prayer, listening. They stopped. STOP. And listened. LISTEN. And looked around them. LOOK.

Living here in Grandma’s house, I’ve been forced to slow down. I don’t have ALL the modern conveniences. I wasn’t able to blog as often or check my email as often or surf the internet as often. And you know what happened? I saw things that I’ve never seen before. The beauty of snowfall on the ground. And I heard things. The sound of the wind blowing snow and ice and how it cracks when it hits the ground. I know that those things seem so minor – but in the whole picture of life, those things are God’s creation. And had I stayed at home, I may have never experienced those sights and sounds. Had I not stopped my fast paced life for just a few moments, I would have missed out.

So, I say all of this in an attempt to share with you just a few of the lessons I’ve learned about life in the past two months. Thanks for being a part of my journey.

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.


Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


words & music by Carl G. Boberg and R.J. Hughes

2 comments:

At A Hen's Pace said...

Great post, Summer--Amen! So often, when we just SLOW DOWN, we experience God in new ways--but of course He's been there all along! So glad you got to have that experience.

We were so glad to see the eclipse despite weather forecasts that said it would be very difficult to see--it looked crystal clear to us! The kids thought it was so cool.

I'll be praying that the weather will cooperate and you can leave safely soon.

Blessings--

Jeanne

Anna K. said...

Beautiful post, Shug! It's so easy to miss God's perfect miracles when we allow ourselves to get cought up in our own busy-ness. How wonderful that you're taking the time to enjoy them!

One of my favorite hymns is "Great is Thy Faithfulness". One of the ways the Lord shows us his faithfulness is through nature..."Summer and winter, springtime and harvest. Sun, moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love."

Thank you for reminding me of that.