Finally – Annual Fall Foliage Cruise
November 12th, 2009The rainiest October n many years delayed our Fall foliage cruise on the Tennessee River until last Sunday afternoon. Before the boat is put away for the winter, one last cruise has become a requisite event. The grandeur of the quiet river winding through hillsides splashed with the brilliant colors of Fall is too much to pass up.
This year the peak of the colors had passed. Sherron estimated about 45% of the leaves’ best coloration to be remaining. Still, that is a spectacular sight on a warm, sunny day in November. Little did we guess the special surprise awaiting us on this trip.
Alongside a 40-foot limestone bluff we pulled into shade from the bright sun in order for Sherron to see and describe the scene more clearly. Trees at the water’s edge had lost their leaves. The bare branches framed the regal golden foliage of the trees just uphill. Scattered dogwood trees offered their crimson displays. On cue, a blue heron flew into the scene and landed on one of the bare branches. Just downstream from the boat a young duck swam across our drifting course. A pair of jets traced contrails across the azure blue sky. Then Sherron spotted the beautiful surprise or the day: a bright, full-colored sunbow.
Only days before Sherron had seen a sunbow featured on a satellite TV early morning nature program, Sunrise Earth. Each day the program presents video of sunrise shot over a splendid park, forest, mountain vista, shoreline, or other natural wonder. Brief text descriptions explain the sites. One day last week showed a sunbow.
A sunbow is formed by sunlight shining through ice crystals high in the atmosphere. The ice crystals refract the sunlight in the same way that sun streaming through water vapor after a rainstorm produces the spectrum of color in a rainbow. Sunday afternoon’s brilliant blue sky allowed the sunbow to glow magnificently from the ethereal band of cirrus clouds. The sunbow was visible across north Alabama, but it was a cherished addition to our cruise.
My thoughts were drawn to previous Fall foliage cruises and God’s splendor so lovingly displayed on those and countless other occasions. One of the first Blind Faith devotionals, written October 25, 2006, reflected on our recognition of the creative and intimate relationship God desires with us:
Fall foliage cruise time! For the 18 years or so I have had a boat in the Tennessee Valley, I have anticipated this time of year. On a cool, sunlit autumnal day, putting the boat in the Tennessee River at Madison County Marina just upriver from Ditto Landing, we head upstream at a leisurely pace from Ditto Island to Guntersville Dam. Along the route, magnificent rock bluffs rise 40 feet or more from the water’s edge. Strong hills undulate into the distance along the river. This time of year, the trees on the hills are resplendent with color. The confluence of the power of the river current, the majesty of the rock bluffs, the splendor of the hills painted in hues of red, orange, yellow and green, the azure blue of the sky, and the counterpoint of the sun’s bright warmth and the bracing cool of the air herald God’s astounding work in creation.
True to form for me, a song lodged deep in my memories from childhood popped back to active awareness, bridging the images of God’s wonders. George Beverly Shea, the musician for many Billy Graham crusades, is the voice I hear in my mind, singing, How Big Is God?:
Though man may strive to go beyond the reef of space
To crawl beyond the distant, glimmering stars;
This world’s a room so small within my Master’s house
The open sky is but a portion of His yard.
(Chorus)
How big is God? How big and wide His vast domain?
To try to tell these lips can only start
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
Yet small enough to live within my heart.
As winter’s chill will cause the tiny seed to fall
To lie asleep till wake by summer’s rain.
A heart grown cold will warm and throb with life anew
The Master’s touch will bring the glow again.
(Chorus)
How big is God? How big and wide His vast domain?
To try to tell these lips can only start
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
Yet small enough to live within my heart.
(Words: Stuart Hamblen)
We eagerly grasp for comprehension of God’s infinite power and gracious creation. All of creation, from the immense wonder of the universe to the scarlet beauty of an autumnal dogwood leaf, tells us about God’s grandeur: “The heavens tell the glory of God, and the skies announce what his hands have made. {2} Day after day they tell the story; night after night they tell it again. {3} They have no speech or words; they have no voice to be heard. {4} But their message goes out through all the world; their words go everywhere on earth.” (Psalm 19:1-4 NCV) As Paul reminds us, “Ever since the creation of the world {God’s} eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” (Romans 1:20a NRSV) How big is God? In the only truly accurate sense of the word, God is AWESOME! The power to set stars and galaxies in light years of space, to paint the hills with blazing color in Fall, and to renew life and flowers in Spring is certainly enough to create, renew, and bless me.
As overwhelming as God’s power is, God seeks to live with us intimately, as close as our hearts. Again, Paul tells us of God’s desire to live in us: “Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.” (Colossians 1:27b NLT) John, the disciple who perhaps most clearly grasped the creative power of Jesus’ love, offers an intimate snapshot of Christ living in us: “And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. {14} Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. {15} All who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. {16} We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. {17} And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.” (1 John 4:13-17 NLT) As a follower of Christ, the God who made the universe dwells in my heart! That is astounding!
Where do you see evidence of God today? Take a moment to thank God for all the beauty of creation, through which He speaks to us, drawing us into relationship with himself. Do you sense the power of God’s love in Jesus Christ living in your heart? How is God changing your heart today to show more of Jesus’ love? How big is God? “He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart.”
- J. Edward Culpepper
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