God in Alaska

So this past week I went on an Alaskan Cruise with my family.  It was great to see people I have not seen in a long time and also to meet some new additions to the family.  On top of that it was my grandparents 60th Anniversary!  So it was a great time to celebrate together and have fun.  The thing I liked about this cruise were the views.  So when I took breaks from eating I could go outside and see God's handiwork!  Sometimes I would look at the views and it didn't look real or someone added a filter to it.  It was so amazing to wake up and look outside and thank God for what He has made.  Here are a few pictures that my cousin Brandon took that I like.  But the funny thing is I didn't have to travel on a boat to Alaska to see beauty or appreciate God's creation.

         Don't Miss the Miracle by Helen Keller              

I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at sometime during his or her early adult life. Darkness would make him or her more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him or her the joys of sound.

Now and then I have tested my "seeing" friends to discover what they see.  Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed.  "Nothing in particular" she replied.  I might have been skeptical had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see very little.

How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note?  I who cannot see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch.  I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf.  I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or sign of awakening nature after her winter sleep. 

Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.  I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers.  To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcoming than the most luxurious Persian rug.

At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things.  If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight.  Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little.  The panorama of color and action, which fills the world, is taken for granted.  It is human, perhaps, to appreciated little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.

Helen Keller has a point.  Even on the cruise you get distracted by the food, entertainment and sleep.  There was so much beauty surrounding me that it was amazing.  When was the last time you appreciated what was around you?  Take time this week to thank God for the things He has made and for the things He has given you.  Take time to look at the beauty of God's creation and enjoy!

~Nick