OH DEER!

As I walked into Henry Cowell State Park this morning an unusual movement caught my eye. It was more than the bounce of a branch that is caused by a squirrel leaping from one tree to another. It was a violent stirring of bush branches while everything else around was still, as it usually is on the meadow early in the morning. It caused me to stop, to wonder, to hope – could it be a deer?

I love deer. I’ve loved deer ever since I was four years old and would see them leaping across the lawns as I looked out from my bedroom window. They are beautiful, graceful, elegant animals. My love for deer has been squelched a bit as they have discovered my rose bushes and strawberry plants and have made them part of their culinary delight. But still, to see deer, even in my garden, brings me great delight. I often judge the joy of my walks by what animals I see. Sometimes it’s a “nine quail and a bunny day”. Earlier this week it was a “17 duck day”. One time it was even a “coyote day” as I encountered one on a shadowed path. But no matter what other animal I see, or how many I see, it still doesn’t thrill me like seeing deer.

So imagine my joy when out from the bushes walked a beautiful buck! I stopped and watched until I could no longer see him. I walked on with a sense of satisfaction – it was a “deer day”.

As I thought about the event I thought about how movement draws our attention away from the ordinary. I thought about the movement of God’s Holy Spirit and how He stirs up the common every day scene and causes us to stop, to wonder, to hope. And the joy that comes when we discover “that was God”! That is the best, a “God day”!

About fifteen minutes later I was walking down the path on the other side of the meadow when I stopped suddenly for there in my path was the same buck. He, too, stopped. He considered me there in “his path” and decided to step into the bushes along the side. But before he totally disappeared he stopped, turned his head and took one more long look at me. It was a special moment. How would I categorize this walk? A “one buck, two times, day”? A “two times one buck day”? I then thought of how God loves to delight His children and I realized it was a “doubly deer (dear) God day”.

GIANT SNOWFLAKES

The sky was clear. The air was crisp. It was a beautiful fall morning at Henry Cowell State Park. As I walked across the bridge the meadow came into sight and I was struck by a miracle! All across the expanse were what appeared to be giant snowflakes, delicately clinging to stalks of grass. Each one was at least 18 inches across. They were beautiful! And there were hundreds of them.

Now it was chilly (42 degrees, I had noted, as I left home) but not cold enough for snow. The “snowflakes” were actually huge spider webs, intricately woven, with pearls of dew strung on each line, shining in the sun. The sight was amazing!

I have never been afraid of spiders but neither am I a great fan of spiders. I am quick to knock them down with a broom, scoop them up in a tissue, and flush them down the toilet. But today I saw them through different eyes. Each spider in the meadow had carefully endeavored to do what it was created to do. It appeared that the Son looked down and with His radiance he gave a nod of approval and the result was a sight to behold! Each spider sat humbly in the middle of its web and basked in the joy of its creator. The creature that I usually would despise and dispose of was now a thing of beauty.

It struck me that as we do what we are created to do we too can bask in the favor of God. And what is it that He created us to do? It is answered in Micah 6:8 –

He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

As we do so we too may strike someone as a miracle and a thing of beauty. But more importantly, we will know the Lord’s pleasure shining down upon us.