All Creation Cries Out

September 9, 2013

God’s Glory in Creation…

“How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory! How plainly it shows what He has done! Each day announces it to the following day; each night repeats it to the next. No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth.” Psalm 19:1-4 (GNT)

“Ever since God created the world, His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all.” Romans 1:20 (GNT)

“…But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these (disciples) become silent, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:40

There is nothing more magnificent than the beauty of our God, Mighty Creator, Elohim’s handiwork! He is seen in the mountains pointing to the heavens, in the pastures of wildflowers blanketing the ground, in the blue skies decorated with white clouds, and in the oceans of the deep covering seventy percent of the earth, housing over fifty percent of plant and animal life on this planet . Yes, our Mighty Creator spoke creation into existence and spoke life into being…by His word.

“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Gen. 1:31

Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul…and God created man in His own image, male and female, He created them. From Gen. 1:27, 2:7

And the great Creator planted a beautiful garden and walked with the man and the woman…One day as God came into the garden, He could not find them. “Where are you?” asked the Mighty Creator, Elohim… “Where are you?” He called to the man and to the woman…

All Creation Cries Out

Although Bill and I traveled a great deal during his racing career, we did not take a vacation until the fourth year of our marriage, following a long stretch of racing, nor had we gone on a honeymoon trip, other than one night in Lakeway, TX. We inquired of Bill’s father where to travel safely with our toddler son Adam. His suggestion was a destination he and his family had discovered while on a cruise ship. The island of Grand Cayman was so appealing that they obtained permission from the government to disembark early and to remain on the island for a week, then to depart from there to fly back to the states. Their experience had been fantastic and they highly recommended it. Bill and I booked airline tickets and made lodging reservations and were set for the adventure. What we did not know at the time was that this trip would create a roadmap for the rest of our lives, impacting our family in ways we never imagined.

Because we arrived after dark, I will never forget our first impression of the British island as we took the taxi ride to our condo. The ride itself was an adventure on the dark narrow streets and it was quite unnerving to allow the driver to navigate the vehicle on what innately seemed like the wrong side of the road. I also could not understand a word the driver said because of his calypso dialect, but I loved it because it sounded like music! Thoughts of being kidnapped raced through my mind as we drove through what looked like a jungle, into darkness. However, I was confident that we would have been quickly returned because they could not have put up with Bill and me, our toddler, and the sixty something year old babysitter who was experiencing ‘firsts’ of everything. The airplane trip and the taxi ride were absolutely exhausting to her and her reactions were totally entertaining to us! (And to all others around her)

The beauty of the Caribbean night was overwhelmingly eerie and captivating. The night sounds of the wind…palm leaves flapping… the waves crashing against the shore… the moon appeared to move across the sky…its brilliance and the stars sparkled like jewels against the velvet darkness…

So true that joy comes in the morning! All the apprehension from the evening was replaced by our discovery of the most incredibly beautiful pristine beaches and an ocean that equaled the bluest sky, creating a mirage of a horizon-less view. There was no divide, no separation, between earth and sky…just a magnitude of heavenly blue…with whitecaps and white clouds mingling together…breath-taking at the very least…And I remembered that God was the Master artist…The Mighty Creator…the canvas that we were experiencing revealed His handiwork, His masterpiece…His handprints…

No excuse at all…I often wonder how mankind can encounter the incredible beauty of this world and doubt…

Our first vacation to Grand Cayman was the catalyst for us to return with our two children several times a year, to spend weeks at a time…And what transpired through these years of time spent there was a real and powerful testimony of our Mighty Creator, Elohim, to His majesty, His Authority, His goodness, His authorship, His power, His very being…As our family explored the beach critters, sand crabs, lizards, birds, tiny octopi washed up on shore, sea-shells, turtles…and we began to snorkel and eventually to scuba dive, our family experienced the other fifty percent of creation which lies under the ocean. Magnificent color…intriguing sea life…The peace and solitude found under the ocean, the only sound … the rhythmic breathing of the diver…peace, solitude, wonder, beauty.

No excuse at all…I often wonder how mankind can encounter the incredible beauty of this world and doubt…

Bill’s family also called Grand Cayman their “second” home as well. There were very few times of year when some member of the “Meyer Family” was not sitting on the beautiful beach or enjoying the warm tropic waters. Many memories were made with cousins, aunts, and uncles…and most memorable was the special time spent with their grandparents.

I remember our children running freely up and down the beach, exploring creation, encountering the incredible beauty, playing with children who lived on the island, living a simple, unencumbered life…climbing trees, chasing lizards, and gathering coconuts and relishing the sweet refreshment inside. After cracking open the coconut, they were amazed to find food and drink inside!

Today, we have become aware of the incredible health and nutrition benefits of this delicious fruit. The coconut, for centuries, has provided island cultures with hydrating liquids containing antioxidants, potassium, other essential minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, and amino acids; the liquid inside is called “Dew from Heaven” in some cultures. The coconut water is sterile and contains similiar composition as blood plasma and has been used as IV fluids in remote areas of the world for many years as recorded in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine in 2000.

Amazing and miraculous the provision that God gives His creation.

No excuse at all…I often wonder how mankind can encounter the incredible beauty of this world and doubt…

For our family, each of these experiences testified to our Father’s faithfulness to love and to provide for His children. I am certain that the years that we spent traveling to this beautiful island, the weeks we spent living there, homeschooling there, encountering creation ,all of these experiences contributed to our faith and to our belief in our Mighty God. I am certain that our children’s understanding and perception of their Heavenly Father was enriched by their Cayman experience. Some of their favorite moments occurred in the Caymanian church which we attended as a family. We often invited two of the children, a brother and sister, we had met on the beach and discovered that this was their first church experience. The pastor would call all of the children down to the front of the church for the children’s sermon. While most of the children, including ours, would run to the front, eager for the story, one of our little guests would cry through the entire service and cling to whatever he could grab to anchor himself during the children’s sermon time. (We never understood what he thought was going to happen) But, they would attend each Sunday with us… our children loved this rich and authentic worship experience.

I remember the day that Christie, our daughter, came to me and confidently proclaimed with total wonder, “Mommy, did you know that God made everything, every single part of creation? He made it all!” She experienced her Creator, her Heavenly Father for her own life, for her own relationship and had drawn this conclusion based on the evidence she had encountered. I remember our son Adam was knocked down in some rough waves, and suffered a broken arm when he landed. His faith for his arm to heal without surgery was bigger than his parents and the doctor’s until we all saw the mending and healing of his bone in record time. The doctor was amazed! Both of our children experienced the real, true, obvious, visible, Creator, Mighty God, in their young lives…to have the wings of faith root deeply into their hearts…faith, a gift from our loving God.

Yes, for our family, Grand Cayman was the voice of creation crying out its testimony of a real, true, faithful, loving God, Mighty Creator, Elohim. Much of our richness as a family is rooted in the memories and life-experiences on this small island. Much of our faith and confidence in our Loving Heavenly Father is rooted in His creation as it testified to our family the truth, the reality, and the presence of the Living God.

And for our adult children, they each chose to return to this place of beauty, of life, of peace, to honeymoon and to begin lives with their spouses. And they continue to return to this place of their childhood to experience the beauty and the wonders, always new each day.

No excuse at all…I often wonder how mankind can encounter the incredible beauty of this world and doubt…

“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Gen. 1:31

Our loving God made all of this, created the universe, called life into being, not for the sake of creation, but for the sake of Himself and the man and woman who He made in His image. He breathed the breath of life into them and they became living souls…in His image. And His perfect, holy, loving intention was to have relationship with humankind. Yes, to walk with them in the garden. His love is perfect, but humankind must make the choice… our Loving Father looks for us, waits for us, and calls out,

“Where are you? Where are you?”… When we are lost, or when we are hiding.

If humankind chooses not to recognize, to receive, and to proclaim His Glory and His Truth, Truth does not change. It is not altered. Jesus said the stones will cry out…Yes, Creation testifies to the Truth, whether mankind does or not.

My prayer is that we all are empowered by the beauty of creation and its testimony…That our faith is enriched…that we love what our Master loves…that we seek what our Father seeks…that our testimony will join with the rest of creation’s message to the world. I pray that children like our little friends we met on the beach would experience their Creator God even though they might not have a church experience. But for those two, I am thankful that seeds of God’s love were knitted into their little hearts, not knowing where they are today…

I look forward to another trip to the small Caribbean island when we take our family back to the place where many seeds of faith were planted in our lives. It is so wonderful to watch the tiny feet of grandchildren as they reluctantly step onto the white sand, then as they toddle into the blue waves washing ashore. The pictures are priceless, and the memories incredible, but the most valuable experience is knowing that the same Mighty Creator, Loving God, Elohim, who spoke to our children through the beauty of the small island, will speak to and show His handiwork to their children, our grandchildren, building their faith and inviting them into their own relationship with their Living God.

Our Loving Father, calls out, “Where are you my child…where are you?”

And He speaks, “…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Abundant joy,