I’ve lived in this area
for nearly a decade; I even came to Olympic Peninsula with my family when my
children were young, and I never saw a whale here, this close, until
today. And I will never forget the moment. My emotions tumbled
together—in the same breath I was awestruck,
standing-on-the-front-of-my-feet-excited and just plain amazed. This will go
down as one of the pinnacle experiences of my life.
The neighbors down the street were on their decks, binoculars in hand,
cameras clicking, enjoying the scene. There was no jumping from the water
but every time it would surface you could see this 50’ gray whale, seemingly
covered with barnacles. As the whale swam out of sight I went inside and
back to work. But my memories fanned the flames of imagination—wondering
from where this great creature had come, where was its pod, why was it
here?
Less than a half an hour passed when my two little “watchdogs,” Honey and
Sugar, began barking uncontrollably. Though I tried repeatedly, I could not
make them be still. They may be tiny but they seem to have the volume of the
BIG dogs they undoubtedly imagine they are, and they are always faithful to
let me know when something unique is happening. By now, completely bothered,
I finally glanced out my window and there, in my front yard, stood two
beautiful deer. The scene was enough to cause me to stop and catch my
breath. Quietly they looked up at me, and then, indifferent to my barking
dogs, they grazed among the salal to their fill. Once again I thought—what a
great Creator.
With no lie I tell you that not two hours later, the most picture perfect
bald eagle I’ve ever seen flew not 30 feet from my front windows. I’ve seen
many eagles fly by my home, at least a couple of times each week. But
this eagle was different. This eagle belonged on a gold or silver coin,
in the movies, as the model for a sculpture or the picture in an
encyclopedia. It was mesmerizingly beautiful and, from my angle,
proportionally perfect.
I
wondered, “Is this ‘play’ –this ‘display’ of beauty--simply the way Jesus
intends creation to work?” What God originally created He called “good.” Sin
has corrupted His creation but it doesn’t mean God’s purpose and heart were
changed. In the book of Romans we read that some began to worship the
creature rather than the Creator. But, today, seeing all of this unfold in
front of me only made songs rise in my heart to my Creator.
I
am convinced these wonderful creatures—the whale, the dear, the eagle—in
their divinely given purpose, exist to bring God pleasure and praise.
Lately I’ve been longing for new days and breakthroughs in many areas of
life. I’ve found myself frustrated, short on patience and long on complaint
at times. But a few moments enjoying the work and glory of God refocused my
heart and my song.
The Scripture reveals my purpose—to bring Him pleasure and praise.
Revelation 4:11 (KJV) 11 Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created
all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
With renewed understanding I saw that my primary calling is to be a
worshipper of Jesus, who is the First-Love in my heart and life. So I
thanked Him and gave Him fresh praise for such a meaningful set of
“interruptions” in my day. I don’t worship His creation but His creation
helps lift my gaze to my Creator and I give Him fresh praise. That’s what
seeing these marvelous animals did in my heart and spirit today.
Take a moment and look around you. You may
not get to see The Whale Dance today, or deer wander lazily through your
grass, or a bald eagle mount up in flight in your front yard. But as long as
we have breath let us thank Him for His many blessings and do our part to
bring Him pleasure. Truly,
Psalm
150:6 (NKJV) 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
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