This story ends with a deeper understanding of creation and our function within it and our ability to see outside of it. Honestly, I struggled to write this Part III because God has been continually expanding and expounding on the lessons I learned this day and I wasn’t sure what to include in this blog! But, I decided to keep it basic and true to the thoughts and experiences of my time in Sri Lanka. For a refresher – Here is Part I and Part II
When Creation is Corrupted: Part 3 – Redeemed
It wasn’t until I said it out loud that I realized how true it was; God wasn’t done with me at the temple grounds. So while a few teammates had an adventure day and a few others had a rest day, I headed out again with my dear teammate and sister Taylor.
Because the previous day had been spiritually tough and mentally and emotionally draining, I again felt the need to suit up and head off to do battle in this space of darkness and death. However, the walk to the site was incredibly fun and sweet as I talked with my friend and a sense of peace caught me off guard. Once we were through the main gate, I again wanted to ‘get serious’ but instead of seeing darkness, I began to tune into the scream of creation crying out, stretching upward, pointing straight at the One who is glorified in all of it.
Eyes averted from the golden buddha forcefully (desperately) demanding human attention, we continued chatting and laughing as we climbed the steps up to the cave temple. One of the older woman working as a vendor walked up to us and stuck a bouquet of bright purple flowers in front of me. We attempted to gracefully decline because these are sold as offerings to a god I do not worship. I remembered watching so many individuals the days before, clutching delicate petals as they entered the temple to place them on stone altars where they wilt and rot before still silent idols. But as I started walking past her, a truth rattled in my head and I heard Jesus whisper ‘Give it back to me’.
Turning around on the steps I was struck by the beauty of the landscape, the grandeur of the mountain, the unending stretch of plains and the intricate ecosystem of Dambulla, Sri Lanka. A town I had never heard of but was suddenly aware that He is intimately familiar with each crock and crevasse, that He knows the number of beetles, the life cycle of each plant, the personality of each monkey and the exact color combinations for every shade of green.
“Give creation back to me.”
So I went back and smiled and purchased the bright flowers from the sweet lady with the missing teeth and the strong hands. And I decided that this specific bunch of flowers was going to back to God.
Walking onward and upward I felt the weight God’s revelation crash into my heart – Creation screams Glory and Praise of its Creator. All of it. Even the stones that built the idols, the ancient dye in the paint that decorated them and the very shape that they are carved into, humans, reflect Gods Creation and in it his image, his nature, his beauty and power and goodness and love. That same creation is in bondage, actively battling its own innate design as it is forced into attempting to glorify anything other than our God. It is weighed down by the tension of being pulled in these different, warring directions. The mountain points to Him yet dug into the side of it is a painful cavern full of toxic death. Why? Because the enemy has craved creation to be his since Eden but despite the abducting, manipulating and destroying of so many things, they still declare the creativity and care of their Creator – which isn’t him. And he hates that.
So instead of the heavy warfare I had expected, instead of the darkness that strives to show its face any chance it gets, God enlightened my vision to the beauty of his light, the creativity of his heart and his intimate yet expansive expressions of love. Because it’s not about him, the defeated. It’s about Him, The Redeemer. His quest and desire to right our relationship to Him. To come back into His Presence for an eternity of glorifying Him the way we were created to.
The mountain was washed in peace and at the top we sat for a while to soak in the view. A local Sri Lankan man with dreadlocks and rasta English struck up conversation with us by showing us a hand carved puzzle box. He began to read the wrinkles on my face in an attempt to tell me about my family, my brain, my life. I laughed telling him I didn’t need a reading, that I knew who I was. He assumed that all white people who came to this spiritual site were ‘seeking’ answers. Then he asked “Have you had won at life yet?” And Taylor and I smiled at each other as he began to elaborate on his definition of success in the reading of the stars, the emptying of the mind and the shape of the mountains. So I laughed and shared…
What if I told you – Yes, I’ve already won at life? That I share in victory over the mind with the One who invented it? That instead of asking the stars, I can hear from the One who created the universe? I could work and climb and strive for peace in the mountains and for adventure in nature, but instead I rest in a peace bigger than the mountain and will forever adventure into eternity. The man had heard of Jesus and yet the simplicity of surrender contradicted his lifetime of working for reward.
The next two weeks in Sri Lanka were hard. I can’t ignore all of the cultural brokenness, frustration and hurt that erupted around my team and my squad. However, God kept showing me the contrast between the hard, broken, dry land around us and the beauty of His initial intention for Creation. I saw his handiwork when we took an adventure day to an Elephant Sanctuary and saw how humane treatment of animals brings fulfillment to them and to the humans who were stewarding dominion well. We toured a tea factory and then a spice garden where people’s relationship, partnership, and excitement with these other facets of the garden nurtured life. From the desert of Dambulla we traveled to the city of Kandy, the mountain town of Ella, and the beaches of Mirissa. Each landscape highlighting different aspects of His creativity, wisdom, beauty and outstanding love.
Anything that has beauty glorifies God. The more I saw, the more I looked. His original handiwork became more and more apparent as did His redemptive work to bring all of creation back into right relationship with him.
Back at the temple, I threw the flowers into the wild brush, placed them up high in the trees, placed them near monkeys and gave them out to other people. In the beginning, God gave us creation. Although we lost it, He won it back for us at the price of his life. Now all we can do is surrender it all back under His hand and His plan.
While we were leaving, I talked about these seasons of planting seeds that the World Race had put before us. We have spent months pouring into people around the globe without ever seeing them experience the freedom we know is waiting for them. Planting seeds might seem like the first step but God showed me that Sri Lanka needed a soaking of His Presence before any seeds could take root. So through conversations, prayers and an awareness and an invitation for God to enter into every moment – we soaked that ground.
A few weeks after we left the country, we heard reports that there was such heavy rainfall that landslides and damage was occurring near cities we visited and friends we made. Churches our squad had met were getting involved in the restoration and we know the people they serve will see Jesus in their work. Join me in continuing to pray for this country, for those out there right now harvesting and for those still dying from thirst and waiting to be redeemed.
xo Hannah
