But God’s work is beautiful May 16, 2024

Revelation 21:3 Look, I am making everything new!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart.

Genesis 1:31 God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

I find nothing so refreshing as a walk in the woods. The rhododendron blooming all over Pittsburgh right now remind me of a walk I made when I was trying to complete—in sections—all 70 miles of the Laurel Highlands Walking Trail. On a previous hike, Dave and I noticed the buds covering the rhododendron plants along the trail. This time, they were in full bloom, stretching as far as we could see through the trees in every direction. Breathtaking.

I would not have seen this had I sat at home.

As gorgeous as our world is now, something even more beautiful awaits us—a new creation, unspoiled by the events of millennia and the impact of billions of people. I can’t wait! CS Lewis in The Weight of Glory and The Great Divorce imagines our need to grow our souls to be able to coexist with such intense beauty. One way to do that must be to open ourselves to the beauty we already have available to us.

God also does beautiful work in our lives. I would love to see and share this beauty! With Pentecost this Sunday, we will enter what the church calendar calls “Ordinary Time.” It’s in our day to day “ordinary” living that God enters and does extraordinary things. I would love to “see” and share the beauty of what he’s done for you! When have you seen God intervene and make something beautiful from a difficult situation? Don’t keep this loveliness to yourself! Honor God’s power and love by sharing your “But God” story.

Here’s how: write your story in one page and send it to me: debrakornfield@gmail.com. I post twice a week and will let you know when I post your story. If you like, you’ll be able to share the link with others.

If writing isn’t your thing, you can text me to schedule a time for you to tell me your story (by phone or by Zoom), and I’ll write it for you. Don’t worry—I’ll send it (or read it to you) before I post to be sure I have the details right. You’ll have a written record of an important moment in your life. And you’ll encourage other people who need to see evidence that God is still alive and well and active in our world today.

Will you accept the challenge to remember and tell how God turned crisis into beauty in your “ordinary” life?