Landscape Full of Life

I grew up in the Midwest, and I’ve always relished its simple beauties, from the wide, lazy rivers to the rippling rows of cornstalks to the forested valleys thick with woodland wildflowers. To me, the lush spring landscape outside my parents’ home in Iowa is as delightful as the mountains above my home in Washington. Mountains are majestic, but fertile valleys buzz with life. In Iowa, dragonflies float on the flower-sweetened breeze while songbirds twitter in the trees. A bullfrog croaks the bass notes, and crickets fill in the background. Radiant green covers the hillside from the treetops to the lawn, and rabbits, deer, and other critters scurry about. Everywhere you look, you see life, growth, and beauty!

Giant mountains, vast oceans, thundering waterfalls, and the starry night sky all impress me with God’s greatness. Even so, normal meadows and forests sometimes astound me the most. To me, they’re the best examples of God’s creative power, because they show His amazing ability to create life—in abundance! And just to think: He made it all from a dark, shapeless blob in space—and a few words.

Does your spiritual walk ever seem as desolate and lifeless as the earth before creation? If so, remember that the same God who spoke life onto our planet can infuse you with spiritual vigor. David believed it; that’s why he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). Jesus can make your life as vibrant as a Midwestern hillside in the spring!

Just ask Him!