Rudkin: Look to the mountain | Columns
[ad_1]
Our Wyoming landscape is rugged, wild and beautiful. For us Casperites, part of the beauty is the mountain — Casper mountain. I have lived in this town for 50+ years and I never, ever get tired of our mountain. I study the mountain, for she reminds me that God is big enough to keep all of life on track and yet personal, close enough to see the tears of his people.
The simple beauty of our mountain stuns me anew each day. Our family went up there for Father’s Day and as we drove into the cabin I marveled how the evergreens appeared to reach effortlessly into the sky and how the aspens seemed to politely applaud our journey. The June wildflowers eagerly faced westward, as if they sensed their days were numbered.
The cool air felt soothing to my face and the stillness a balm to my soul.
Like you, I don’t get to be up there as much as I would like, but even now, when we look at the mountain, God’s steady sovereignty is on full display. As it is every day, with every season of every year.
People are also reading…
When we watch the sun rise and set and shadows fall across the mountain’s face, God is showing his undeniable power and perfect precision. He is ever reminding us of his deep care for all of creation and his artistic flare for the unbelievable.
The deeply respected monk and poet Thomas Merton wrote it like this: “We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through it all the time. If we abandon ourselves to God and forget ourselves, we see it sometimes, and we see it maybe… frequently. God shows Himself everywhere, in everything — in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very obvious that God is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without Him. It’s impossible. The only thing is that we don’t see it.”
It’s true sometimes we don’t see him. Sometimes we lose sight of his kind goodness and his abundant provision. Sometimes we get so busy, so myopic, that we forget to even glance his way. Yet he is always, like the mountain, standing there waiting.
We cannot be without Him.
God is everywhere, all the time, breathing life into each of us. The varying hues of our summer flowers and the white cotton ball-like clouds moving across the sky have God’s DNA written all over them.
When the birds sing songs to one another, when the winds blows through the tall trees, when the ants will not be detoured, I see him and marvel at the God who is everywhere, always.
He is present, he is beautiful, he is powerful. We cannot stop his presence, or remove him, or insist that he doesn’t care.
Like our mountain, God will not be moved.
So, if today you need a little help, a little wisdom, a little respite, I encourage you to “lift you eyes to the mountain” and remember that God is there. The creator of all you can see or feel is your provider and protector. He never sleeps and is ever present.
Forget yourself for a moment, abandon yourself to God, and you will be satisfied.
Larry and Linda Kloster sponsor this column.
[ad_2]
Source link