A Matter of Faith...

By Carol Round

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24(NIV)

I recall a summer morning over 25 years ago. My oldest son and I were walking down a country road.

He would stop frequently to poke a small stick into the dirt or a mushroom that had bloomed after an overnight rain.

When he looked up from his inquisitive searching and saw the orange, red and purple sunrise, he exclaimed, “Look Mom, God sure got up early this morning.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because he’s been busy painting the sky,” Casey replied.

I can remember my own Louisiana childhood days. I would spend hours outdoors in the sultry heat. My mother would usually find me lying on my back or on my stomach in the grass.

On my back I could look up at the clouds and imagine what God was doing up there. What did He spend His days doing?

My childish imagination pictured Him with the angels having a contest to see who could come up with the best cloudscape. Did God let them win once in awhile?

On my stomach I would be looking for four-leaf clovers or watching those little-hard-shelled creatures that I called roly-poly bugs. I didn’t—and still don’t—know their scientific name. I was just captivated by their funny looks. I’d poke them and watch them roll into a little ball for protection from my curious finger.

My fascination with God’s wonders didn’t end when the sun went down. I can remember firefly hunting with my sister. We would borrow some of mom’s Mason jars and poke holes in the lid.

In our eagerness to capture the insects while their lights were on, we would race across the lawn barefooted. More than once, our enthusiastic hunting tactics led to a broken jar and a cut foot.

When the lightning bug hunt was over—usually because mom made us come inside—we would take our nocturnal captives with us. Placing the jars on our windowsill, we would drift to sleep with the tiny insects flashing their lanterns.

It was only later in life that my curiosity led me to do some research on lightning bugs. I learned that their flashing signaled a desire to mate. What I found even more fascinating is that each lightning bug species has its own specific flash pattern so that it doesn’t attract a firefly of a different species.

As a child, I didn’t care why they were lighting the night skies. I just enjoyed their lightning bug dance.

As an adult I cannot fathom how anyone, who sees a sunrise or sunset, a cloud formation or a four-leaf clover, a roly-poly bug or a firefly, can deny the existence of God.

Even today, when I see a sunrise, I have a vision of God with paintbrush in hand putting His bold strokes on the morning sky.

Have you seen God at work today? Open your eyes and enjoy. He did it all for you.



Carol Round is a retired Jay High School teacher. She currently resides in Claremore, OK. Readers can reach her at carolaround@yahoo.com.