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Muskrat
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Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith - 5/13/19
"O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have
you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."
- Ps. 104:24
I often erect a photography blind at the edge of a marsh near our home. I usually see ducks or occasionally a heron or kingfisher. If I am in my blind before sunrise, I often glimpse a beaver or a muskrat as it swims by, but the lack of adequate light stops me from capturing an image. On this particular morning, however, I was fortunate enough to see this fellow swim by when the light was good. As he made his way along the far bank I was able to take several images and even have time to just watch for awhile. Most people, I would guess, have little affection for muskrats (after all they have "rat" in their name), but I was totally enchanted by this guy. The variety and complexity of the creatures God has designed has always filled me with awe. To be the designated caretakers of the natural world, as Christians are, is both a somber responsibility as well as an honor. And why Christians are not at the forefront of environmental movements is something I have never been able to fathom. One reason may be that we are so consumed with the hectic pace of our lives that we have never bothered to just stop and observe. We don't think about what we don't see, and we dismiss what we don't understand. Time spent in nature will transform both what we think about the environment and what we think about the One who created it all. This little muskrat changed how I thought about the rest of my day. It put a song in my heart just by watching it swim past my photography blind. Carve out time in your life to be still and observe the wonders God has provided for your pleasure. There is more to life than making money and riches aren't measured by the car you drive or the home you live in. I left this marsh feeling like I was the wealthiest man in the world. And, in a way, I think I was. - John
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