Once upon a time I was standing on some sand. Not any usual sand, but black volcanic sand. I looked down and saw how strange it looked to have pure black sand at my feet. I had just been shuffling through it to get to this place. I looked up and saw the tip of the glacier, glowing bluish against the overcast grey-scale sky.
I looked around me, knowing that I was next to a volcano that was active and prepped to burst at any time. Was the ground shaking? No, that was just me slipping down some sand as made my way down a hill of black sand closer to the melted water's edge. As the glacier retreats, it leaves behind some of its broken chunks of ice, floating in the water. Is this place real? Am I at the dawn of creation? The world is still being made, here. This is still earth largely untouched by humans. We leave behind our footprints in the sand, and hopefully that is it.
I take a deep breathe of fresh air. The air is chilled, but not frigid. Here in between the green carpeted cliffs and mountains, the air is still. If there is a slight breeze, it is very cold because it comes off the glacier.
How can a world of ash, rock, and snow be so beautiful? Many would call this landscape barren, but the dramatic cliffs with pops of mossy green and the icy expanse of a huge glacier is what causes me to stand in awe of God's creative power in the form of nature. I call this beautiful, yes, my favourite kind of beautiful is that which draws me closer to God.
This kind of place, most of which Iceland is a perfect example, makes me think about the ever-changing, shaping, and molding of nature, and how our lives follow in the same way. We are not done yet. We are works-in-progress. So is this Icelandic landscape. It's all still changing. God's eyes are on it all. None of it escapes His sight and presence.
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