There always has to be a beginning, and then I want to know, who was there to watch the start?
One of my favourite passages is in the Book of Proverbs:
22-31 "God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth's Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.*
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth's Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.*
Today I felt challenged and inspired to put some thoughts down in response to a friend (on Facebook, yes I am there along with about half the planet). He was wondering out loud as people do on social media how many days he had left to live (it was something like 16,659 days left if he lived to a hundred) and he asked the question: "How old are you? How many days do you have left for purpose, passion, prosperity and love?" After giving it a few moment's thought, this was my gut-felt response:
"Today is the first day of
my life in eternity...living each day in the light of Eternity.. what can I do
today that will impact someone's life in a positive way forEVER? So I have
infinite days yet each day counts as a treasure." It is so easy to let the essence of our lives slip through our fingers, not living fully present in the moment. And we all do that, to varying degrees in our lives. When I was 16 I wrote an essay at high school on how I wanted to live every moment to the full. And today I am reminded of that. Amazing and wonderful things are happening all around us. We just need to pay attention. My favourite moment today was when a little bird sat on the top of my open window frame and started serenading me with a pretty song. Had I been too absorbed in my work at that moment I would have lost something special - a moment of communion with nature and somehow through that, with the Creator of us all.
