The Works of His Fingers

From March 2011:

Mountains.  I love mountains.  Few things can fill me with awe the way they do.  I look at these mighty creations and realize how much more mighty their creator is.  

I also love sunsets.  They mark the end of another day, their glorious colors softly fading into a blue-black.  Sunsets are incredible.  And I love the sun setting behind the mountains even more, watching the colors of the rock slowly change with the sky.

Recently, I took a trip to spend a week at an orphanage in Mexico.  It was an amazing week, filled with far too many stories to tell here.  But there were a few things that struck me and filled me with awe for God.  And yes, there were mountains.  Lots of mountains, all around.  They were gorgeous and every time I saw them, I just wanted to thank God for His creation.

One moment that will always remain clear in my mind is a night we had a bonfire with the kids.  There, in the desert, with just the glow of the fire lighting up where we sat, the stars could be seen in all their glory, shining bigger and brighter than I'd ever seen before.  Because the kids got to stay up late for the bonfire, one little girl (only around four or five years old) got really tired and curled up in my lap.  I gently rocked her to sleep by the fire.  It was a sweet moment.  But it was awesome too: Looking up, I could see the moon and stars and this vast universe all around me... and yet here was this tiny little life resting in my arms, trusting that I would keep her safe.

I thanked God in that moment.  Thanked Him for His amazing creation.  Thanked Him for that little girl. Thanked Him for life.

Then, this morning, I read Psalm 8: 3-4 which says:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

When I read that, I remembered that moment in Mexico, looking up at the skies, around at the mountains, and down in my arms at the tiny little girl I held.  To think that each of these things was the work of God's hands was incredible.  And to see this huge universe and then think how much God cares for this little girl (or for me!) was just amazing.  Why would God even notice us humans if there's this gigantic world and galaxy and universe all around us?

And yet He cares.  On the trip, I was struck by God's faithfulness.  It wasn't just that He kept us safe in the face of danger.  It was the way I saw how He worked in each of our lives.  Sometimes it feels like the whole world revolves around me.  I don't mean that in the prideful sense at all - Just that so many things happen so perfectly in life (even the bad things as they fit in with the others), that it's like God orchestrated all those events for me.  But then I realize that He's fitting all those events into other people's lives too and my brain can't even wrap around the thought.  It's like God has designed the world around each specific person. 

Life reminds me of one of those weird-shaped puzzles.  You know the ones - where you have all the pieces that have straight edges so any number of combinations could seem to work, but only one is right and will fit perfectly?  That's what life is like. It's like He's fit together all of our individual puzzles for our lives, and then fit all those puzzles together for everyone's lives to make one big picture.

And then I realize: it all goes together because it's not about us at all - it's about Him.  It's His story.  We just get to play a part in it.  That's why it all fits together.  God has made this perfect picture and we each get to be one little piece of it.

I still have a  hard time comprehending that.  This awesome God of the universe cares about our each individual life.

What is man that you are mindful of him?

God has all these amazing creations: mountains, sunsets, stars...  But He loves us and cares about us anyway.

Just try to wrap your mind around it.  If you're not in awe, just keep thinking.  It's crazy.  It's awesome.

God is awesome.