I have been to 48 of the 50 United States, and someday hope to add the last two (Alaska and Hawaii, as you probably guessed) eventually.  I am always so amazed and grateful at the variety of land formations, and scenery, and geography in America.

I look at the beautiful mountain vistas and think “Wow!  God is Amazing!”  Seeing the flat mid-western land and the rows of rich dark green grain under an enormous blue sky thrills my heart. If I stand at a beach, the miles upon miles of ocean just overwhelm me with their grandiosity.

I’ve seen the Grand Canyon (a few times), stood by alligators (several times), gone swimming in the Atlantic and waded into the Pacific.  I’ve seen a lot of God’s creation and I can’t help thinking that He is uniquely glorified by what He made.

He is.  When He created it, He saw that it was “good.”  Even now, touched by the curse, it is still gorgeous.

But where I want to point at the Rockies, Lake Superior, or Carlsbad Caverns and say, “God, this is amazing, look what you’ve done!  My heart soars at what you’ve made!”   He looks down and finds beauty in something that I don’t even notice.

The two-inch long baby in the womb

The toddler lisping while she prays at her bedside

A child laughing with his friends while playing soccer

A teen heartbroken over high school drama

A young man that can’t walk because of a disability

A woman whose abortion as a college student left her infertile

The man jobless and homeless due to drugs

A grandmother spending her last years in a nursing home

And God says, “These broken and scarred people are the most beautiful of my creation.”

It’s difficult to see how people – messy, sinful, or rotten – can touch the heart of God.  Especially because I am a person and therefore messy, sinful, and rotten.

God saw His creation that it was good.  Yet He called the creation of Adam and Eve “very good.”  Do I see people as God’s very good creation?  Even when spoiled by the grip of sin?

Yes, He clothes the lillies and names the stars, but He knows each hair on our head.  Most especially… He loves us.

I see the astounding majesty of nature and think that’s what brings Him pleasure.  And He just loves to hear my voice when I speak to Him.

Wow.