It was something of a holiday in Thailand last week, and my team and I got to have a four day weekend. We did the only reasonable thing we could think of at the end of month three in October: we booked some tickets and rode on an overnight train to spend our time at the beach in Krabi before we met up with the rest of the squad to travel across the border to Cambodia.
I was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, panting of course, because I had recently finished my run. I left my music to play as I let the beauty of God’s creation flood over me. There’s something so magical about observing the fullness of the ocean. The deep blue water reminded me of God’s royalty, the roll of the waves of His everlasting faithfulness, the music of the water hitting the shore of His longing to serenade us in His love. I sat in complete awe of His majesty.
How did I get here? How was it possible that He loved me so deeply, He has provided for this journey, which has been pulling me closer to His heart with each passing moment? How could He love me so immensely, that He led me to sit at the beach in Thailand in October, so that He could show off His creation, shower me in His provision, and remind me over and over again that He is a Father who gives good gifts?
Who am I, but mere dust, that He should see me, hear me, love me, provide for me, desire me to be His child?
Beautiful Things by Gungor began to play on my Ipod.
You Make Beautiful Things,
You Make Beautiful Things out of dust,
You Make Beautiful Things,
You Make Beautiful Things out of us.
And of course I am praising Him for the Indian ocean, because that’s the beautiful thing that is sitting right in front of me.
But at the exact moment the chorus began to play, a large group of tourists began to walk by.
Leave it to God to come in clutch with impeccable timing.
They didn’t stay in one large clump, either- people rarely ever do. Instead, each family or group of friends, left some space between the next family, creating a steady stream of people. There were Indians, Thais, Australians, Americans, small children, teenagers, parents and grandparents.
“Do you see my people, Diana?”
“Yes, God.”
“They are more beautiful to me than the bluest ocean, the highest snow peaked mountain, thousands of pink sunrises and sunsets, more precious to me than gold or silver, more valuable to me than your vocabulary could ever say. For I called this ocean ‘good’, but I hand-crafted each of you and created you ‘very good’. I made the most beautiful things in all of creation out of dust.”
I watched them pass, praising God that He chose us to bear His own Holy image. And the last note of the song played, as our Creator’s most beautiful creation stopped in a group to go out on boats to enjoy His ocean.
Here are some pictures from my incredible trip.
It was beautiful, it was lovely, it was refreshing.
But as you scroll through these photos, remember that God is gazing at you and considers you far more beautiful than any other thing He has created.
And that is something worth praising.
