God's glory in a Soybean Field

 

   Hey guys, so this post is going to be a little different from my previous posts. As some of you may know, I have spent the last month traveling quite a bit. I have gone to Wisconsin, Indiana, and Maryville, MO. I went to all of those places for either conservation or agriculture events. Most recently I went to Maryville, MO. But if you know Maryville, you know that it is mostly just soybean and corn fields. But I would like for you all to look a little closer. I would like for you to see God's glory in even a soybean field. 

    It was easy for me to see God's glory in Wisconsin with all the fall colors along the bluffs and the beautiful landscape. Wisconsin had a wide variety of conifers with various different cones. Perhaps it is because I'm a bit of a tree nerd, but I think it is so interesting how unique each species of conifers are. How the cones are sometimes thin and sometimes thick. Sometimes long and sometimes short. Sometimes light colored and sometimes dark. The list goes on. Every time I pick up a cone I think about how amazing it is that God made each cone so different. How amazing it is that they are even formed the way they are. They are more than just cones to me because of it. And that was just the tree cones of Wisconsin. That didn't even include all of the other beauty I found there! But what about that soybean field I mentioned earlier? Is it truly more than just a soybean field? 

    Whenever I first started going to Maryville as a Junior in high school, all I did was complain about how boring and plain the landscape was. I thought that if I wasn't able to see any deer then I should at least be able to have a good view to look at all day. It wasn't until this year that I started to realize the beauty of the soybean field that I spent all weekend in. It was Sunday morning of my trip, and I got up before dawn to get to my hunting blind. The temperature on the dash of the truck was 10 degrees. I was not looking forward to sitting outside. But as I sat in my blind and watched the sun come up, the field glimmered and sparkled as the light of day caught the frost covered soybeans and grass. The field was ivory champagne colored with lavender hues in the shadows. It was beautiful. I was amazed at the natural hues found in nature. Only a God so great as ours could ever make a palate that beautiful. 

    When it came time for me to leave the blind to move into the woodsy part of the field, I noticed how detailed and delicate the frost looked upon the grass. It looked like one of those crystal candies. Then a snowflake fell onto my sleeve and I could actually see the details of the snowflake. The snowflake looked as if God had just made a paper snowflake (like the ones you make in elementary school) and sent it down to me. It was like a perfect little gift that I could enjoy and observe; even if for a moment. How amazing is it that God put so much attention and detail into even a snowflake?! He could've made them a white insignificant blob, but instead He made each one unique just as He made each of you unique! If God puts that much effort into a snowflake, think about how much He cares about you!

    I spent the remainder of the day in the woodsy portion of the field that looked over the soybeans. Even within that tiny patch of woods, there was so much life! It was its own little micro-ecosystem; a hidden treasure. I sat below a black locust tree waiting for deer, and I began to notice even the smallest things about the tiny ecosystem I was sitting in. For those of you who don't know, black locusts have small spines along the branches and can really cut you up if you run into one. But I think it's unique how it has spines and other tree species do not. How some trees have weird looking fruit, like Osage oranges, and others are just smooth and simple. How some trees have scaly bark and others smooth. I think it's what makes nature truly beautiful. All the variety of trees, shrubs, plants, and animals add to the beautiful painting that God has made. 

    I also began to notice the wildlife living in the woods. I noticed how the squirrels run and play with each other and how they kept running in and out of a hole in a dead tree. The woods were their playground, and they kind of reminded me of little tree puppies. As I was observing the squirrels, I heard a knocking noise. Then I saw a red flash in the trees above me. It was a woodpecker knocking on a tree branch. I pulled out my binoculars and watched it for a while. I think it is so interesting how God made woodpeckers so different from other birds so that they can drill into wood without hurting themselves and how their bodies are made to be able to digest the wood. God could've made all birds the same so that they would be able to drill into wood. But He didn't because He knows how it balances the ecosystem out. I also noticed all the other song birds in all their colors. The ruby red of a cardinal or the vibrant blue of a blue jay. They all had a part to play. After watching the birds, I heard a rustling in the leaves. I looked to my left and saw a tiny pink nose pop out of the leaves. It was the tinniest opossum. It very timidly crawled out of the leaves and into the sunlight, walking slowly to make sure there was no danger. The opossum eventually made it to the soybean field, where it soaked up the sunlight for a moment and went about its day. Then I saw deer out in the soybean field. It was in the rut so the bucks were chasing after a doe. I looked at the antlers of the buck and thought how amazing it is that God can make each set of antlers different and unique. It's amazing that they can even grow bones out of their heads at all. I've always been fascinated by the process of antler shedding. How they grow antlers, shed them, grow new antlers in velvet and shed those to reveal newly polished antlers. Finally, I thought about all the animals I couldn't see. I thought about the little field mouse I had seen that crawled out of a hole in the ground. I thought about the rabbits and turkeys. I even thought about the microorganisms underground. They all had a part to play.  Ecosystems are too complicated and thought out to be made by the Big Bang. It is evidence that points only to God. 

    I haven't even talked about the sunsets! Sunsets in the soybean field are so beautiful because you can see all the wide open space and all the open sky. The clouds all are in a purplish pinkish hue and the trees are the horizon are silhouetted. The night creatures take the stage and you can hear the coyotes and owls in the distance. To me the dark and the night creatures aren't scary. They just allow me to see the other side of the soybean field that not many get to see and I think it is awesome! 

    I am truly amazed by God's power and His attention to detail. Nature is God's masterpiece. I challenge you to go out and look closely at the world's greatest work of art and appreciate the artist who made it. I challenge you to look at all pieces of nature and I promise you will be truly awe-inspired. I challenge you to go and actively see God's beauty in everything. I challenge you to see God's glory in a soybean field. 

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."- Romans 1:20

-Abby :)