Full of Glory

“Heaven and earth are full of glory, a glory which stubbornly refuses to be reduced to terms of the senses of the humans who perceive it.”
-From N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian

Dear Reader,

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go on the 2009 Fall Retreat. We went to Sierra Pines up near Tahoe. That area is great! I’m a huge fan. I love to be in the mountains every chance I get.

More and more I’m realizing just how much I love to be out in nature. It is so refreshing for me! When I sit out there thinking about God, things just seem so much simpler. When I look at trees and clouds and streams I’m not thinking, wow the world is really screwed up, which is what I think a lot when I’m surrounded my civilization and media and all that.

As N. T. Wright would argue (we’re reading his book in my English class), the beauty of creation is simply an echo of a voice or a signpost that points to God. But the beauty of creation leaves me magnificently unsatisfied. I was standing there one night this weekend staring up at the HUNDREDS of stars I could see and got that feeling that you’ve all had, I’m sure: I’m so SMALL and God is so HUGE and these stars are so awesome that I just can’t wrap my mind around it all…

I can’t wrap my mind around it all.

We had a “solo time” where we got to go off on our own and sit in silence and just be with God. When I get opportunities to do that I always go in thinking that I’m going to work through some of my problems. However, when I get out into nature, all those problems just seem to fall away. My mindturns out from its normal self-centeredness and selfishness and it wanders off to bigger and better things.

In and of itself, nature will never and has never completely satisfied me, no matter how much I love it. Instead, creation points to something bigger. It makes me think of the way things should be—the goodness in the world. It causes me to not focus on the stuff that doesn’t work out. I causes me to realize the ways that the Kingdom of God has and is coming.

God Bless,
Stephanie

PS: These lovely pictures were taken my my amazing former roommate Jenn!!!

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