It was all so perfect...

Today's Reading: Genesis 1 & 2

So I have read the "creation story" many times, but it was good to go back and refresh my memory and bring new eyes to the story. How amazing it must have been in those first days as God created His masterpiece. Here are some thoughts that I had while reading tonight:

1. What an amazingly creative God we have and we are made in His likeness! I know this is probably a bit cliche', but I can't help but be amazed when I think that I was made in the likeness of the one who created the heavens and the earth. That means that at least some bit of that creativity must be inside of me. I think that's pretty great.

2. I have been so blessed to get to see much of His great creation. Through many of my travels, I have gotten to see some of the beautiful parts of God's creation. I think of the mountains that I saw each day when I walked on the campus of North Greenville. I think of the first "big trip" I took to Salt Lake City, Utah where the Rocky Mountains dwarfed the high rises of the city. I think of standing beside the Nile river in Uganda. I think about flying over the Sahara desert and the frozen tundra of Canada. I think of walking in the brisk air during a day of camp in June in Estes Park, CO. Goodness, I even think of the warmth of the sun on my face during a day of camp in West Texas. I think of the beautiful clear ocean in Davao City, Philippines. I think of the beautiful people of Haiti. I am blessed beyond measure that I have had the opportunity to experience so much of His creation, and the crazy part is, I've really only just begun to scratch the surface. I pray that I will never stop appreciating the beauty of His creation.

3. I love verses 1:16-18 that talk about the "two great lights." How incredible to think when we feel the warmth of the sun on our face, watch a beautiful sunset, or stargaze at night, that God placed each and every one of these lights in their place.

4. We are created in HIS IMAGE. I think this is both an incredible and daunting statement. My hope is that as I learn more about my great God, that I may also learn more about myself in the process. Maybe along the way I will also learn how to be more like Him.

5. Random thought of the night...the rivers in 2: 11-14. Does anyone else ever read the Bible and wonder why God thought it important to mention something so specifically? Does anyone else also get frustrated because you can't seem to figure out why it may be important? I don't claim to be a Biblical scholar. So, I wonder, why is it important to go in such detail about the four rivers that flowed out of Eden? Hmm...guess that's something I'll need to look into more this week.

6. God gives us our first picture of marriage and the image of what will be Christ and the Church right from the beginning. Chapter 2 finishes with the picture of woman being created from the rib of Adam and the picture is good. It is good for man and woman to have each other. I think this is our first picture of community and the image of the importance of our relationship with Christ. On a lighter note...do any of you other ladies find it interesting that we are the only things that weren't created from the dust of the earth?

7. The importance of Sabbath. So I promise it was purely coincidence that I happened to have seven thoughts about this passage and that the idea of Sabbath came last. Weird though. I have come to learn more over the last few years the importance of Sabbath, especially in the summers when I am at camp working all hours of the day and night. Even in those most busy times, our bodies and souls are designed to have a Sabbath. Its how we were made. So make sure (and I am saying this as much to myself as to whoever happens to actually read this forever long post) that you must find time to have sabbath in your life, no matter how "busy" it is. After all, that's kind of the point, isn't it?

So, these are my random ramblings on the passages I read for today. I don't know that I will do this everyday, but I had a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head tonight and felt like getting them out. The only sad part about reading these two chapters is that everything really was so perfect. As you draw to the end, it is as if you hear the "dun...dun...dun..." in the background of the fall that is to come. Too bad we messed it all up. Oh well, all the better that we have a wonderful savior in Jesus Christ who came to reconcile us to our wonderful creator.

"So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1: 27