The Morning Song in the Winter Mountains

We woke in the morning to capture the waning moon after sunrise. A couple days after full moon, if the skies are clear at dawn, there can be a beautiful sight as the setting moon nears the mountain ridges at the southwest end the Tygart Valley in the West Virginia mountains. Alas, the lower atmosphere was filled with semi-transparent haze that masked a perfect view. But, the contrast with the mountains with a light snow on the slopes, the fields in the flatland near the river, and the craggy locust yielded a view worth capturing.

While the moon was partially obscured, I thought about it. What a blessing to have so much evidence of God’s loving kindness on the surface of His created planet. Even with the brokenness of sin and its consequences on creation, His hand can clearly be seen in what we observe. The snow-covered mountains were getting “poor man’s fertilizer”, which is snow that slowly melts into the rocky slopes and valley fields. The layer of moisture in the lower atmosphere is a fitting sign of life, as moisture and the water cycle are critical for our habitat. Even after the Genesis Flood, the seeds of trees and grasses spread around the globe, so we look at fully covered mountains full of trees, which are currently harvested to make building materials, fuel, and other wood products.  The winter temperature in West Virginia, which is often well below freezing, is a modest cold. All around the planet the temperatures are generally tolerable. Vast areas of arable land with water sources are present on every continent. The axis of the planet is perfect; the planet’s location from the sun is perfect. The size and placement of the moon is perfect to clean the oceans with currents and tides that dissipate the worst of pollution in city harbors. The list of the benefits of His loving kindness could go on and on.

As my gaze returned to the craggy locust in the forefront of my view, I was thankful. Truly, there is more in the scene than is apparent with a passing glance. And, all of this is so we can choose or not choose to come to God. Oh my!

************************

“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it…The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy…the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.”         from Psalm 65 (ESV)

“he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything….that they should seek God, and perhaps find their way toward Him and find Him.”          from Acts 17:25-27 (ESV)

Bookmark the permalink.

2 Comments

  1. Roland GOD does provide for His creation.
    But most important salvation through the shed blood of our
    blessed savior Jesus Christ,

    • Yep. And having made that provision, He is worthy of thanks for all he has done. The speech to the Athenians is referenced for that reason.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.