All Around Us

I love the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” I used to sing it to my children at bedtime. We would sing together through all of the silly little toddler songs, and then it would be time to really settle down. That is when the longer songs, typically hymns, would begin.

I remember using “How Great Thou Art” to try to help my sweet son settle down during a storm. He has an extra sensitivity to loud noises and lights, and storms overwhelmed him. He would freeze up, every muscle in his body so tense that I could not help him relax. If he had a grip on me, there was no loosening it. The only thing moving would be the tears streaming down his face as he suffered through the noise.

So, I would talk to him about the amazing God who loved him, protected him, and was more powerful than any storm.

I see the stars

I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

This hymn reflects a mentality spread all throughout the Psalms. God is in the mighty. He is in the powerful. He is in the overwhelming. And He is so much greater than all of those things put together!

Yet, in the Psalms we also see how He is in the small. The simple. The almost unnoticeable.

He is in so much, yet I so frequently miss Him. Oh so frequently.

This week I've seen His hand in so many ways. I want to see more. I want my eyes to be opened to the incredible ways in which God's presence is everywhere! He gives us such an amazing gift, a gift that goes far beyond just sending one of our representatives into His presence once a year for the purpose of atonement. We have the gift of standing in His presence every single moment of every day! Yet, we take it for granted, ignoring Him in all the ways He reveals Himself all around us.

I cannot hear thunder and see lightning without thinking of the amazing presence and power of God. And now even my son can do the same. I'll never forget the stormy night I went to check on him and he calmly and groggily said, “The thunder woke me up, but I went right back to sleep, Mommy.” He almost did not stay awake long enough to finish his sentence! Sounds and lights still overwhelm his senses, and sometimes storms still cause stress. But, his little six-year-old heart now serves as a temple for his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and oh what a difference that makes as he deals with overloaded senses or any other stress! He sees God all around him!

Lord God, may I see you! In the big, in the little, and in everything in between!