Recently, my family and I took a quick trip to Southwest Oklahoma to visit our favorite fishing holes. Located in the National Wildlife Refuge, we enjoy this place for so many reasons. It is a beautiful place within the Wichita Mountains. I personally think it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. This place is home for me.
As we drove into the mountains, we lost our cell phone signal. The lake we fish at is even further into the Refuge. Once you arrive, you have no digital distraction, only the beauty that surrounds you. We fished, we fought off a snake or two, and we had a blessed time in the beauty of God’s creation.
When we take time to look around, we can see the wonder and splendor that God has created. Folliot Pierpoint experienced much of the same thing, only he lived long before the time of cell phones. It was in 1863 that Folliot, a professor of classics, was taking a walk in the countryside. As he looked around, he could not help but think about that gift of God’s beautiful creation. He was inspired to write the text for a now classic hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth.”
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
As we begin this week together, with so many things that compete for our attention, I hope we will take a moment to look around and see the beauty of God’s wonderful creation around us. God is with us, and God is at work bringing beauty to our lives.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
