Rays of Light

photo courtesy http://www.photobucket.com

Yesterday I spent about thirty minutes in Australia and relished every second. Most people are in and out of there in less than ten minutes, but I didn’t have any of my zoo-sprinting offspring with me, so I was able to inch my way through the exhibit at my own leisure. How refreshing for a nature enthusiast like me. I’m the person at the zoo that you really don’t want to trail behind because I frequently stop to admire rocks, bugs, foliage –everything! By the way, if you ever accompany me on one of my little nature outings and there are exotic birds nearby, you might want to pull up a lawn chair and relax. We might be there awhile.

That’s why the Australian exhibit is one of my favorites; it houses many breathtaking species of exotic birds. I’ve been through this little refuge many times and I know it quite well. Still, yesterday’s visit was an entirely different and unique experience; it seemed as though I was viewing everything through a brand new set of eyes –through God’s eyes. I was truly inspired.

Amazingly, I was the only one in Australia during the greater part of that half-hour. Savoring this rare opportunity, I was able to talk to God freely -and the animals- without anyone thinking I was a nutcase. (You’ll probably be relieved to know that the animals did not speak back).

God spoke volumes to me as well. I had already taken a moment inside the zoo’s entrance to silently pray that He would speak something into my heart while I was there and He most assuredly did. However, there are no words which can adequately describe what God placed in my heart as I beheld all of that beautiful, familiar creation in a fresh new way. I can only say that something inside me was stirred so deeply that I was literally in tears at the wonder of it all. For thirty-minutes I stood in awe, looking at even the simplest things with tears falling softly down my cheeks.

I’m not sure if it was my lone presence in the place or simply God’s hand at work, but all of the animals were positioned so that I was as near to them as I could possibly be. Even those in cages stood at the front of their enclosures and looked me right in the eye as though they knew me personally. We truly seemed to connect as I told them how beautiful they were and how very much I enjoyed them. I would like to believe that they understood my words, but even if they didn’t, they surely must have felt God’s awesome presence, and were therefore, completely at ease.

I cannot even begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for Adam and Eve walking in the Garden of Eden as they communed with God, but I truly feel that I was indeed blessed with the tiniest glimpse of that. Then I wondered how is it that I, one of the world’s most ardent nature-lovers, don’t always feel such deep emotion in the midst of God’s creation?

I have, for example, seen the exquisite colors on the various waterfowl hundreds of times, but never before had I noticed just how prismatic their feathers are when spotlighted by the sun. I’ve seen a million spider webs, but never before realized how intricately the fragile, silk-like strands form a surface strong enough to hold its prey, yet delicate enough to sway gently in a breeze -translucent as a sheet of glass glistening in the sun. And I had certainly seen the various animals before, but this was the first time I really noticed some of the more subtle variances of colors and patterns on their bodies. Even the withering plants had a peculiar sort of beauty to them.

I have always known that our spiritual eyes can become dim over time in the same way that our physical eyes do. Perhaps yesterday’s trip to the zoo was, for me at least, a fresh reminder that God always wants us to have deeper, more meaningful experiences in every part of our lives. If only we could learn to look at the world around us and really ‘see’ its beauty, we could enjoy it more fully and appreciate our Creator even more. I pray that nothing ever becomes so commonplace to me that I start to view it as simply ordinary. After all, my God is an extraordinary God who has blessed us with an extraordinary world to live in and enjoy.

Maybe I’ll head to the jungle sometime soon, taking the time to look through God’s eyes again. If you live in the area, I’d love to have you join me. But be warned, there are exotic birds there too, so you might want to bring that lawn chair.