The closer I get to nature, the closer I get to God. His creation is awe inspiring, majestic and crushes any doubt one may have about His existence and control over all the earth.
There is nothing my soul craves more than to experience the presence of God in the ordinary things of day to day life. The first time I felt the touch of God’s Spirit upon me was during an early morning walk along the shore of the ocean. It was quiet and I was reflecting on the truth of God’s word and the weight of His promises. In prayer and meditation I asked God to touch me in a tangible way. Next, I felt the wind rolling in from the waves and blushing my cheeks with the breath of God’s Spirit.
As I write this, I am coming in from taking a Recovery Zoom Room meeting with a small group from the Ottawa area which I took from the porch of Sean’s uncle’s house in Cap d’Espoir, 15 minutes from the Rocher Perce. Once again, He has used the breeze to blush my cheeks and filled the yard with dancing trees. I cannot help but want to praise God! In His majesty and sovereignty he continues to reach down from heaven to remind me that He is near - as near as my next breath and that He will meet all my needs because I am His.
What a wonderful time we had catching up with family and witnessing God’s magnificent creation at every turn. The majestic scenery of the Perce rock and capes filled my heart and left me breathless. My heart swells with every memory - memories that I will hold dear because they remind me of the importance of perseverance in life and in my faith.
On the day we took the boat to tour Perce rock and Bonaventure island the fog was so thick that, from the shore, within a matter of minutes, we saw the Perce rock “disappear” from our line of sight. WOW! Once we boarded the boat, and set out to sea I experienced the power of water (a blog on this at another time) and the perseverance of wildlife in a habitat that, while foreign to me, has been the home to Atlantic puffins since 1758.
They are a strong bird, able to withstand all weather conditions, loyal to their mate and loving parents. Risk takers and explorers, to watch them fly between the rocks, scuttle from oncoming boats and run along the top of the waters to get airborne, they are true adventurers. They embody everything good and are passionate, loyal and helpful.¬Teresa Dawe (Hamilton, ON)
Although they are only 25 cm in height, puffins are fabulous flyers, flapping their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88 km an hour. Even though I could not capture their flight in pictures it was amazing to watch them go and move about so easily despite the crushing waves. But what inspired me most is their ability to rest on the waves despite their surroundings and circumstances. Puffins spend ⅔ of their life on the sea- without a care in the world. Meaning they have no worries at all.
Human beings on the other hand, are anxious over worldly cares with deceptive hopes and promises of riches and happiness. This causes us to abandon the great concern of our souls and seek in its place worldly things.
Despite God’s word in Matthew 6:25-34 which repeatedly tells us not to worry I have been guilty of hyper-focus on worry - unable to cast my cares on God I chose to stress and obsess. Meaning I did not believe, have faith or trust in God to provide what is necessary for my health, welfare, maintenance, and protection.
After many delays and difficulties in attaining what I believed was needed for a personal relationship with God I heeded Paul’s word to Timothy - But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these worldly things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT)
Furthermore, I realized and accepted that It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (MSG)
Lastly, because I was tired of experiencing resistance to people, places and circumstances I chose to humble myself, relinquish my illusion of control and surrender to the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt me, casting all my worries on him, because I believe and trust that God cares for me as he cares for you also. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (emphasis added is mine)
May you be richly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved today and always.
Chantale
Create a great day and live a better life in God!
