I've stood on the highest point in Arkansas

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant … and every kind of fruit tree … God saw how good it was.
—Genesis 1:11-12

While I wish I could say I have some deep, profound topic for this reflection … I cannot. To some degree I try to think through what I will write over the course of the week. Sometimes I have the reflection practically written before I touch a single key. This week my thoughts are loose ideas. Unfortunately I’m not quite over last week’s writer’s block.

I have had the opportunity this week to see some of God’s beauty in creation. Last Sunday, thanks to Dave, we observed an unusual comet (although I mostly appreciated being where seeing stars is a 5-10 minute walk up a hill rather than a 20-30 minute drive out of the reach of star-blocking lights).

Saturday we traveled as a team to experience Mt. Magazine for the first time. It was a trip I had been greatly anticipating since a week in Booneville rarely went by that I wasn’t asked if we had been up to the mountain yet. This question was almost always followed up by a reminder that the best time to go is shortly after the leaves start changing. So we decided Saturday would be perfect. Truth be told, it was a little on the cold side, though that became not so apparent while we were hiking to the highest point in Arkansas, and it was beautiful nonetheless. Sometimes I am taken aback by the beauty of trees with their changing leaves in autumn. I am inclined to assume people, not God, were the master inventors of colors. Looking off Mt. Magazine at the greens and the oranges and the yellows and the bright, vibrant reds reminds me that pigments and paints are just man-made attempts to emulate the beauty that God shows us through the beauty of his creation — nature.


I am also blessed with the opportunity, every Monday through Thursday, to see God’s beauty through the smiles of children at the Boys and Girls Club. I feel like I am finally becoming someone they know and look forward to seeing (as opposed to some strange new volunteer). A valuable truth I learned this week: In a gym containing somewhere around 80 children under the age of 10, piggy-back rides are kind of like a Lay’s potato chip — you can’t give just one.

And with that, having surpassed the 300-word reflection quota, I am ready for bed.

God bless and good night,

Becca