Give Thanks

Give thanks to our Creator for His artistry displayed in the world around us and that we witness in our daily lives.

This is part eight in a series titled, When God is Big, Everything Else is Small -- from Isaiah chapter 40. If you missed any of my other posts, see my FB entries on 11/8, 11/1, 10/25, 10/18, 10/11, 10/5, and 9/28. This series will continue through November.

For the past 20 years, My family and I have lived in central Virginia. In this gorgeous part of the country, we are blessed with beautiful Springs, sensational summers, fantastic falls, and usually mild winters. A dramatically different climate from where I grew up in Hamburg, New York, which averages 106 inches of snow each year due to its proximity to Lake Erie and a weather phenomenon known as ‘lake effect’ snow.

Here in Scottsville, where we only average 14 inches of snow each year, this past week, we experienced our first “hard frost.” A weather event when the temperature drops below 28 degrees, and marks the end of the growing season, a harbinger of the coming winter. Sadly, the zinnias and cana lilies, that had still been in bloom in our yard, and many other plants, did not survive, a yearly reminder of both the fragility of life and limitations in the natural world around us.

As fragrant, lovely, and inspiring, as flowers can be at their zenith of beauty, they last but a moment, and then they are gone. Long ago, the ancient prophet reminded us that we, our rulers, all nations, and even the loveliest of things in nature, are short lived, and insignificant in comparison to God. A reminder that God is big, and that everything else is very, very, small.

In Isaiah 40:6-9, He compares an aspect of our lives to the flowers of the field, when he states, ‘A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; The people are indeed grass! The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

Even when we highlight our greatest attributes, highest achievements, and loftiest intentions, we are like the flowers, in their glorious short-lived splendor, and also quickly fade away. Oh to be sure, due to the amazing love of God, He not only gives us the ability to enjoy the beauty and wonder of life's most magnificent moments, but He also deeply desires that we take time to fully partake in them. When we do so, we can again be reminded of the greatness of God, and that when we recognize that he is big, and that we are small, life is put in its proper perspective.

Dear brother or sister in Christ, or friend along life’s journey, as we begin this Thanksgiving week, take time to ponder how similar we are to the flowers, in their amazing yet passing glories.

A helpful perspective on eternity, and everyday living, brought to us from Isaiah 40, that reminds us that when God is big, everything else is small. I hope you can take time this week in the midst of work, family events, cooking, and being careful in the midst of the pandemic, to “stop and smell the roses.”

I also hope that we as individuals, families, communities, and as a nation, will give thanks to our Creator for His artistry displayed in the world around us and that we witness in our daily lives.