Vestigia Every Day

Revelation 4:11 – You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. (NIV)

Recently, I looked at a copy of Invitation to Poetry: An Anthology for Junior Students. This 1956 volume was "presented for your consideration as a classroom text with the compliments of Macmillan of Canada". This complimentary gift must have been popular with English teachers and equally unpopular with young students required to memorize poetry.

As I flipped through its pages, I came across "Vestigia". Bliss Carman, a Canadian, wrote this poem in the summer of 1919, following a long walk through the woods and hills of the Catskill Mountains in New York State. I used a scripture text from Revelation today because Carman used the poem with the added meaning of revelations.

I took a day to search for God,
And found Him not. But as I trod
By rocky ledge, through woods untamed,
Just where one scarlet lily flamed,
I saw His footprint in the sod.

The first stanza describes Carman's search and subsequent discovery of God in nature. Every day we have the opportunity to make the same discovery as Carman. We will find God in nature if we keep our eyes open.

When we are outside this summer sitting in our yards or visiting distant places, let us seek God in flower petals, fuzzy caterpillars, rocks, and rainbows. I am confident that if we seek God we will not be disappointed.

Prayer: Dear God, like Bliss Carman, may we confidently state that we have searched and seen your footprint in the sod, heard your voice upon the air, and caught the glory of your robe. Amen.

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