the glory of it all

one of the rides i've been doing to train for the MS150 (a bike ride to raise money for multiple sclerosis), takes me just north of stacy rd into a development that, once there, feels completely separated from the rest of the busy world i seem to live in. the trees overhang the road, you can smell jasmine and honeysuckle in the air, if you encounter a car they actually give you the right of way. it's like you cross stacy and time warp into the little house on the prairie or something.

and there's this one bend that every time i pedal round it i am struck anew with the beauty of God's creation. and i think, "You made this??"

i go to webb elementary on thursdays and mentor a 5th grader. well, i don't know if mentor is really the right word for what i do. i just try and build a relationship with her and give her someone to trust in. i've also been doing a few projects with her. this past week i brought in some sheets of origame paper and we folded them into boxes (i learned how to do it on youtube). after folding the first one and realizing how easy it was, she got really excited and wanted to make one for all of her teachers, so we folded more and more and more and she wrote their names on each one and she practically ran down the hallway to deliver them.

she was so proud of her accomplishment. so proud of her work! it was a treat to see and i pray she thinks about the joy of giving as well. i hope that now that she got a taste of it she will want to be giving more often and considering others.

but the point is that she was thrilled with what she made - even if she started with craft paper and a video from someone else - she made something and she delighted in it.

but God! - he made all of this from nothing. and he came up with the pattern of this world - it wasn't on youtube first, i'm sure of it. he is designer, crafter, maker, and creator of all of this. imagine the intricacies he considered, the massiveness he imagined, the sweet scents of jasmine he threw in, and all of the glory around us everyday. you know that glory, right?.. the one you drive past on your way to work?

glance at it next time and let the wonder of it all settle upon you.

and let it draw you to the one who fashioned it and become his.