I'm in Awe!

I went out early this morning to wheel the garbage container out to the curb as I had forgotten to bring it out last night.  It was pretty quiet outside and a bit on the cool but yet very refreshing side.  On the way back up our long driveway I spotted a little brown and gray squirrel sitting on one of the fence posts of the picket fence that separates our front lawn from the back along the western side of our property.  Then out of the corner of my eye I caught some motion and glanced over just in time to spot a pretty, multicolored rabbit hop into the forested area between us and the neighborhood park.

This little guy was different from the rather bland looking brown rabbits that like to come out at night and investigate our backyard.  I was commenting to my wife over the weekend that I haven’t seen too many of those rabbits since I haven’t had to take the dog out at night anymore.  But this bunny was more colorful and had a white fluffy tail!  I stood there for a few more moments hoping that he might reappear but I must have spooked him as he didn’t want to brave another trip out to our lawn!

I smiled to myself as I walked back into the house thinking that I never wanted to lose that sense of awe and enjoyment whenever I look around our surroundings and hear and see all the wildlife about us.  I have also found myself praying the same thing when I look at my wife.  I have discovered as I care for her 24 hours a day, that I have to diligently work at seeing her as the vivacious, stunning beauty that has captured my heart and imagination for the last 46 years… and not as an invalid who’s every need I attend to.  My persistence in this has helped me to push on through the tired, tough and occasional unpleasant times!

I found out when I sat down at my desk in the study following my experience with nature this morning, that the same thing goes for my faith in Jesus Christ!  Colossians 1:27 tells us that “God did this (told us His message) because he wanted you Gentiles to understand his glorious and wonderful mystery.  And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God’s glory.” (CEV)  When I read this verse I immediately thought that I never want to take for granted the glorious riches we have in Christ Jesus!

Can you recall that “first love experience” you had when you met Jesus and asked Him into your life as personal Savior and Lord?  I can remember the night I did… and many other mountain top experiences I have had along the way of my Christian walk at church meetings, youth camp adventures when the Holy Ghost fell and all the youth were down in the dirt worshiping the Lord not caring at all about their hair, keeping clean or anything else except laying prostrate before Him in the power of the moment, at VBS and even in the expensive room my wife and I stayed at on the coast for a couple of days getaway when the room filled with a visible cloud of His glory as we prayed, praised and worshiped him. 

One of the big things I’ve learned as my life had been drastically changed over the last six or seven years is how easy it is to get so caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of life that one can forget about the glorious riches we have in Him.  It seems like the only time we tend to remember is when something comes up and that routine is suddenly broken.  Then we reach out to God and try to rekindle the fire that once burned bright in us.  But you know… maybe we don’t have to wait for an interruption to realign our lives to Him.  Maybe… just maybe… we can stay so sensitive to Him that even the hustle and bustle of daily life doesn’t sway us from our first love experience with Him.  Maybe… it is an experience that we can help to increase within us on a daily basis!

Wouldn’t it be cool if we had that same sense of awe and amazement as I had this morning in the cool and crispness of the early hour when I got to glimpse at the beauty of God’s handiwork among His little creatures in nature… or in the way I make a point to see the beauty and sweetness of the women I love in the face of a potentially devastating disease?

Wouldn’t it be cool if we had that same experience and sensitivity to God on a daily basis?  Well, you know… I think… NO, I KNOW that this is possible!  It just takes a decision and then some active and persistent commitment to that decision to put Him first and keep Him in the place where He always sets you at awe due to the riches of His glory working in, for and through you unto others!

Have a super-fantastic week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… Who am I expecting to keep me in awe of today?”