Life in the Fast Lane

Please note a correction to yesterday's writer: "Are we Out of Control?" was written by Denise Cross.


I have to do a fair amount of driving, and that usually means spending some time on our busy motorways, though, as I live in the north of England, they’re not as busy as some further south. However, I am struck by the tremendous speed at which some people fly past me, and often wonder what all the hurry is all about. Modern life seems to be all about busyness.

A study has found that patients in hospital often recover more quickly if they have a view of trees, or grass, or some sort of landscape outside their windows, and some hospitals are creating places where they can go outside into nature. I wonder why!
God created the heavens and the earth, and all the wonders we can see on a daily basis. A man I know, who doesn’t know Jesus, spent two years working in Antarctica for British Antarctic Survey. He said that there must be a god, because the icy landscape was so incredibly beautiful that it couldn’t possibly an ‘accident’.

I’ve just been truly blessed by a wonderful holiday with my family in the Azores – a group of small islands in the Atlantic – and spent a lot of the time “ooing” and “aaahing” at the stunning scenery and the many beautiful flowers and trees we saw among the volcanic craters.

The flowers, which fade and die within a short space of time, are His handiwork, but so are we, each of us precious, special and individual. Even those who have little or no faith seem to find help and comfort from what God has created. Yet, unless we allow ourselves time and space to ponder all of this, instead of rushing from place to place, we often miss out.

W.H. Davies wrote a poem which begins:

‘What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’.

Whenever I’m feeling down, or a bit sad, I spend time in God’s creation, reflecting on His amazing care for each individual flower and tree, but knowing we’re even more precious to Him than the flowers. It lifts my spirits, and I sense Him speaking to me in that still, small voice.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for the stunning beauty of Your creation. Thank You for Your care over tiny details in the flowers and trees I see around me. Please open my eyes so I can see You more, and know that, as much as You care for Your creation, You care for me more. I love You, Lord and Father, Amen.