Ordinary Joys | Song Dog Journal

“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”
Hans Christian Andersen

It is so easy, at the change in seasons, to start worrying about what’s coming rather than watching the unfurling miracle of each season as it comes. Will we get enough rain? Will the pastures grow? Will the grasshoppers invade? Will the drought break? Will the garden produce? And on and on. And then I look out at my small perennial garden and have to smile. It was 20-something degrees this morning, there was ice on the water by Trixie’s doghouse and by the hydrant in the yard, yet the perennial garden was entirely undamaged, thriving, in fact. These lupines I planted from seed last summer have come up wonderfully and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the flowers look like in a few months time! They don’t bloom their first year, so this will be a treat.

The big picture is great to look at, as long as we remember Who is in control of that big picture. But sometimes we can get so caught up in the big picture that we miss the wonderful pieces that make it up. Like flowers coming up in the springtime, surviving a harsh winter, a resiliently-thriving testament to God’s workings in things big and small.

“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”
Hans Christian Andersen

Romans 1:20 talks about how God’s divine attributes are clearly perceived in His creation design. If you want to see miracles, just look at the beauty of this earth! Creation just sings that there is a God who created all that we see and loves what He created! Few things convince me of this more than the joy God’s furred and feathered creatures bring to His humans, the deep love that can be shared between a human and an animal and yes, I believe it is reciprocal. I think animals have way more to their minds than we give them credit for, much more capacity for emotion and connection. It goes beyond instinct. And I believe that this intellect and intuition is something that brings glory to the Creator! God didn’t need to create any of what He created, and He sure didn’t need to create a human-animal connection that is so joy-giving. Yet what He created He looked at and “saw that it was good.” Isn’t it amazing that He did what He did? That He has created a world that can bring so much joy and goodness and pleasure? Because He didn’t need to.