...the call of creation

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,

stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,

singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

---Henry van Dyke, 1907

Are you a nature lover? Does the glimpse of a backyard hawk, or stone-still owl, or the earth-tone glint of a speckled trout give you pause? Do you climb the mountain because it’s there? Does your heart beat in rhythm with the tide lapping a beach of pure white or coal-black sand? Have you met the steady gaze of a deer at the edge of the wood, and stood, just so, sharing the moment? Do you step out your door on certain days --- those perfect days --- breathe in deeply, and pray a silent “Yes”?

Me, too. And I believe, from the depth of my being, that what we feel in such moments is the call of God’s creation to come away --- to remember the Creator of all this goodness, and us. And to breathe the profound prayer of those who stop to notice; the prayer of thanks and praise.

Both earth and heaven reflect the light of their Creator. And we praise, as blessed witnesses.