Creation Could Have Been

Lord, sometimes I picture what creation could so easily have been, had you restricted yourself.

You could have fashioned a monochromatic world, black-and-white, devoid of color. You might have settled for one type of tree, one kind of animal, one race of people. All food could have tasted the same: flat, boring and odorless. Or even repugnant. It could have been that whatever we touched would feel like sandpaper. Voices could have been monotone, garbled and grating.

Instead of the rhythm of the seasons, year ‘round might have felt like the polar extremes or arid deserts. We might have had 12 months of humidity, seas without surf, nights without sleep. Mountains might have been leveled, a topography without highs and lows, and we might have had emotions to match.

Birds and cats and dogs and cows might all have brayed like donkeys. Snow could have been mauve, and lukewarm. The gauze of a charcoal gray cloud cover might always have hidden the sun and shielded the stars. Life could have been boredom, or even unrelenting pain.

Instead, you were flamboyant, filling our world with beauty and diversity and pleasure. You gave us a home of comfort, then furnished it with lavish amenities.

What made you do it? What motivated such kindness? Why were you so preoccupied with our happiness and satisfaction? Why did you place us in a world of such intricate wonder? We could never fully appreciate the depth and dimension of such artistry in a thousand lifetimes.

Lord, I walk through your world — through my world — and see your kindness. Everywhere I turn, I stumble into grace. And I marvel to think this is just the beginning.

Amen.


© 2008