A water strider

While on a recent out-of-town trip, I had the opportunity to get out early one morning with my camera. I walked down from the lodge in which I was staying to a scenic lake nearby. The rising sun warmed the air, and mist began rising from the surface of the water. Peace prevailed, and my spirit drank deeply.

 

As I strolled across the footbridge that spanned a narrow neck of the lake, I heard birds nearby. As I focused on a clump of jewelweed, I saw four or five hummingbirds sipping nectar. Looking into the water I could see tiny fish darting here and there. Ripples in the water told me that fish were on the hunt for bugs and larvae that had the misfortune to fall in.

 

While still on the bridge I notice some slight movement on the water's surface, which I quickly identified as a water strider. These creatures have always fascinated me with their ability to "walk on water". Then I realized that there were not just a few of these insects at work, but hundreds, probably thousands. I wondered how many other forms of life I fail to notice as I go about my way.

 

Astronauts in orbit have a unique perspective of the earth. From that distance, large land masses are easily seen, along with the great oceans that surround them. But hardly anything of man's doing can be detected. I've heard that portions of the Great Wall of China can be seen, and perhaps one or more of the pyramids of Egypt. But the unaided eye from space cannot see people.

 

Can God see people? When the size of our solar system is considered, we're not very significant. The solar system is just a small fragment of our galaxy, the Milky Way. And now we're being told that the number of galaxies in the universe would boggle the minds of rocket scientists of the previous generation. Do we appear even as large as the water striders?

 

Isaiah chose a different insect in developing this thought: "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers ..." (Isaiah 40:22). In one sense, we are incredibly tiny in comparison to God. He dwells in the heavens; can we hope to be noticed?

 

In that same chapter, however, God's concern for those He created is stated beautifully: "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young" (Isaiah 40:11). God is not only at a distance, but also close at hand. He gets involved in the lives of those who will let Him!

 

My favorite statement of God's personal notice of each of us comes later in Isaiah's prophecies: "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you" (Isaiah 46:3,4).

 

As I shuttle busily about my life, I often fail to notice the creatures around me - even the human kind. But I must never judge God by my failings. We are not unnoticed to Him. He continues to care for those He made, and reaches out to us with never-ending love!

 

 

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Timothy D. Hall.