Finding God in all Things

God in All Things

I saw the trees; I saw the leaves and the birds singing around with joy.

I felt the wind blowing; I heard the leaves shaking and the coldness of the sky.

I heard the stream flowing and the rhythm of its sound praising the Divine.

I smelled the dampness of the wood and the fragrance of the flowers beacon on me.

But their maker seemed hidden.

I looked around to feel this divine, to no avail.

Although this divine is nowhere, yet, he is everywhere, hidden in every blade of grass, low and high mountains, rivers and dry lands, hills and valleys even in the depth of the earth beneath and in the farthest sky above. 

            Yes I finally felt this Divine at last, right on my body. In this little creature finding its food, and having its evening recreation, I finally felt this great Divine.

            This insect, I think it was a mosquito, perched on my arm. It caught my attention. It came into my world. I tried not to move so as not to scare it away. As I was looking at this creature of the Divine stretching it hind legs and wing, searching for food, probably wanting to suck my blood. It was praising God for the provision of food. As soon as it bit me, I shook my arm reacting to the bite. Before I knew what was happening, it flew away.

            The smallness of the insect did not allow me to notice it among other creatures. It is the least of creatures I would never have noticed. But it became a thing in my world when it perched on my arm. I was conscious of watching it.  At the same time I didn't want it to bite me. I became the encounterer while the insect was now the encountered. I wondered at the same time if this insect was also afraid of me. We were both “needing” and “owning” each other. This insect had appeared and then disappeared.  In other words, it showed itself and hid itself, and the mystery remained. 

            To my amazement, I realized that even though this insect is one of the smallest creatures that I can hold within my two fingers, yet it has some aspects that are best known to it and his creator. More importantly, the beneathness of this creature, which I can never understand no matter how hard I try, remains a mystery. Meeting this creature among others of its’ specie makes a difference too. When it flew away, I tried following it with my eyes, but soon it entered into its world, into its family where there are multitudes of them. I lost sight of this humble creature. I could not identify it among others. Such is the mystery that reveals the Divine to us daily through his creatures. I was left pondering my openness to mystery.

            This insect was created by God who also created me. We are both loved and cherished by this God who cares for both of us and all other creatures. This insect is so important that it even serves as food to other creatures. It was created for a purpose or purposes and it is fulfilling those functions. It has time to visit other creatures and bring out the best in them. It does not seek attention or ask for praise, yet it does it daily duties with diligence and care.

As a human, I have a lot to learn from this simple creature that devoted its life to doing what his creator expected of it. What about me? Where have I leapt?