One of my favorite pastimes is gazing out the window into my rose garden. Regardless of the season, seated in my grandmother’s red velvet rocking chair, I am transported back to my childhood. That same rocker sat in the living room of our farmhouse looking out at our front garden. I remember sitting on my mother’s lap as we enjoyed the landscape together. I don’t recall what was said, but I remember the sense of contentment being in my mother’s arms and looking out at our world. The view afforded a lovely scene of the front garden with its white trellis of red roses covering the porch leading outside from the living room to the yard.
Here in my North Carolina garden, I am forming new memories sitting in the rocker. This is a prime spot for watching my David Austin English roses bloom and flourish. This spring, a dill plant decided it was going to appear out of nowhere. It must have wintered over in its sheltered spot and was ready to delight me with its crowns of lacey blossoms. Later in the season, it will push forth lovely seeds.
One morning after a recent rainstorm, the plants sparkled with sunlight on the drops of water still lingering on their blossoms. A spiderweb held a spray of dew on the leaves of my campanula. But the blue blossoms held an even greater treasure. Large raindrops reflected a prism of light caught in the morning sunlight. Sometimes they shone a brilliant white light that was almost blinding.
This play of light on these raindrops set me pondering about the light of God. We take for granted the sun will shine every day. You can’t stare at the sun because its brilliance would damage your eyes. We’ve all looked at a sunset, only to have spots appear before our eyes. But what about the brilliant light of God? The Lord took extra care with Moses, so he didn’t see Him face to face. Yet, we know that Moses’s face glowed after he’d spent time on the mountain with God. The Bible is replete with examples describing the brilliance of angelic visits.
Light that is so bright you cannot look at it. This is our God. The scripture says He “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.” (1) Take a moment to ponder that. Only when He creates the new heaven and earth will we be able to dwell with Him and experience His light without being struck dead. I often meditate on what it will be like to live every day in His direct light. It will no longer be unapproachable.
One of my favorite places to sit and watch the sunlight is by the creek, especially in the early morning. The sun plays tag with water droplets created by obstacles in the creek. The water sparkles like diamonds flowing on top of the velvet surface. Many of our streams delight us with waterfalls. If the sun is just right, a rainbow appears as the light hits the droplets of water as they cascade through the air. When out on the ocean, the sunlight caused the water to sparkle like diamonds scattered on the surface.
The little things in life, such as dewdrops and raindrops, lead us to the One who is larger than life. Such a great God we serve.
“In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”
Revelation 1:16
- 1 Timothy 6:16 ESV