GPBC Blog

Wisconsin summer nights are just lovely. Very different from the Southern California summer nights I grew up with—the Mediterranean climate there is dreamy. But these nights…a mix between ethereal breezes and the weighted, still air that surrounds.

This night, as I walk the meadow path, there is a gentle liveliness. The scent of clover lingers on the path, more pungent at this twilight hour. The expansive field displays swaying, leggy Queen Anne’s Lace, pure white with a proliferate showing. These flowers stand out with white round faces against the emerald-turning-to-black field as the night ensues. It reminds me of how the earth looks now from heaven’s view: glory shining from sons and daughters, like stars in the sky. I have to stop and pause and take it all in.

Fireflies suddenly abundant, active like silent fairies alighting on and off, up and down. The meadow is alive in motion like a heavenly choreography.

The scene brings to mind how often the night skies especially humble us and bring us closer to learning to fear the Lord and His magnitude. And if it isn’t the sky, the flickering wonder in the meadow has the same effect.

Psalm 19:1-4 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands…night after night they reveal knowledge, they have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world...” I stop to listen to the silent speech, and let it echo through my soul.

Verse seven goes on to say, “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart…”

As I wind my way around the meadow path, I see a copse of birch trees, white against the darkening silhouetted woods. They make a backdrop for tangerine-colored clouds and dark blue pastel sky—the fiery show in full glory. There are “surround-sound” cicadas and crickets, almost deafening. An owl swoops low, looking for prey.

I left my home moments ago, longing to be refreshed and to gain perspective on the worries of life. Those burdens could so easily eclipse the beauty God wants to reveal and the delight of the Father in sharing it with us. Here, His presence awaits. His manifest love is in the glorious scene. I worship. He refreshes and restores.

I return home with a wisdom His nature imparts, and joy in the heart—the classroom of a meadow at night, a profound teacher!