How the Lake Speaks

“All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you”

(Psalm 145:10).

My grandmother, Nonnie, always dreamed of owning a lakehouse. She even bought property on a nearby lake, and designed plans so she could build a getaway one day, but she never realized that dream, as the land laid bare until her passing.

I inherited Nonnie’s love of the lake, and every time I return from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s lake house near Coldwater, Michigan, I think, I could live on the lake. I begin to dream about how I could make that happen, but then get overwhelmed with the thought of a move of that magnitude. I table it until the next summer when I return to Lake Bartholomew and dream again. I realize I am just like my grandmother.

There’s something peaceful about the water, especially early in the morning before any boating activity begins. The surface of the lake sparkles like an array of diamonds as sunrise highlights its beauty.

It’s difficult to concentrate on reading God’s word at the lake, because His creation takes center stage. I’m interrupted by a flock of ducks eating breakfast, leftover seed spilled out by the birds at the birdfeeder. I think of the verse in Matthew: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

There are countless squirrels showing off their acrobatics in the trees, and little chipmunks peaking their heads out from under the porch. Often, the tiniest of creatures, a hummingbird, sips some nourishment at the hummingbird feeder. The flowers embrace the lake air, blooming wildly around the back porch.

I tell myself, You have to get back to your reading. But then I think, There’s no better way to experience God’s presence than to saturate myself with the beauty of his creation.

In Job 12:7-10, Job said, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

When was the last time you stopped to admire God’s handiwork?

Is creation enough for you to believe?

There’s no better proof of God’s existence than the complexity of his magnificent and breathtaking design. Sometimes it takes the peacefulness of the lake to appreciate it. (LBW)