The Wonders of God's World

Every summer, Mom's side of the family gets together and goes camping for a few days up in the woods out of the heat. Since my report date is fast approaching, we did our trip earlier this year than we have in the past and went the last weekend in May. We didn't have everyone there, but it was still a great time.
As we all got ready for bed that first night, I couldn't help but notice the stars. I pulled my sleeping bag out of the tent, wrapped up in my cozy blanket, and just gazed at the sky in all directions. While I was at college, I always missed being able to see all the stars I could see from my backyard, which I thought was a lot. I was wrong. At home, I just stared straight up into the night sky. In the woods that night, I could turn my head left and right and see stars all the way down to the horizon. It was so breathtaking to me.
Our second day, we all piled into cars and journeyed to a fire watch tower, where rangers have a good view of the forest to watch for forest fires. It was a long climb, but we all made it, even my 78 year old grandfather! {But my grandmother did stay below.} The tower was well over the trees and you could see for miles and miles. Seeing all those trees was marvelous because there were so many!
The ranger on duty had some hummingbird feeders placed out to attract the fleeting little birds. I could have sat out there for hours, listening and watching all of the hummingbirds zip around, land to sip, than take off again. They were so fast, I couldn't really see them unless they landed to drink from the feeders. But I still loved it.
Maybe it was the fact that I was surrounded by God's creations and away from the noise of everyday life with television, Internet and daily mundane tasks that I feel have to be done, but I have a greater appreciation for this beautiful world. People wonder if there really is a God, but I wonder how they could even question it. Some say that all of this was an accident, some mysterious big bang, and that there is no purpose to our lives. If people were to step away from their computers, their Ipods, their shopping, their cars and any other worldly possessions that they hold high that really have no importance and look closely at the things around them, "stop and smell the flowers" so to speak, they would see that our world is no accident. It is so complex the way it is organized, with so many plants animals just growing and taking care of themselves, knowing what it is that they must do to survive. When people say there is no God, I just want to show them
the petals of a rose,

or the waves breaking against the shore,

look into a baby's eyes,

or even just have them feel the wind rushing by.

All these things are evidence to me that there is a loving Heavenly Father who created this world for us that we might be able to grow and become like Him. There are so many small, everyday miracles mixed into the grand scale of things. I personally think that we as a human race need to slow down our fast paced life that we have tricked ourselves into thinking we need to live and realize that there is a bigger picture that we are living.

On another note, I have exactly one week until I report to the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center. I am so excited for this wonderful opportunity that I have to serve the Lord and the people of Alabama. Ready or not, here I come!!