He is there

I shot this photo a couple of days ago when I had some time early in the morning before work. The sun was breaking through the trees and it had the autumnal glow to it.

It reminded me, ironically, of September 11th. I remember how clear that day was, how it seemed to shimmer. And of course, I remember the silhouette of an airplane crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as I could do nothing but watch. I felt so helpless, even though I was watching it from Washington, DC, and was not in New York, and I lived.

Is that survivor guilt? I'm not sure. But it made me realize just how fallen the world in which we live is. It is full of people whose only aim is their own aggrandizement or their own power over others. And they use fear to try to control other people.

But in the midst of this reflection, I also remembered that there is One over whom there is no ruler. There is One who rules all men, both the just and the unjust both the righteous and the unrighteous. And just as constant as the sun coming up, He is there.

And that makes a huge difference if you really think about it. That He is there, as opposed to Him not being there. That means it is a personal universe. It was created by a person, for a person, and is sustained by that same Person. He rules it in His infinite wisdom, and He is kindly disposed towards us. Sometimes I forget that. In the tyranny of the moment, with fatigue, time pressure, and the responsibilities of just living pressing in on me, I can forget that there is One who sees and knows my struggles.

So it was good to get away to a place in the woods where I could be reminded of that. Even if it was mixed with the melancholy of a bad memory and the noise of commerce calling to me from the distance - whether by the train whistle or by the sound of cars on a nearby highway. It was good to take a few minutes by the creek and remember the Father who loves me.