ALWAYS CHANGING, NEVER BORING

Did you ever regret telling your mom or dad that you were bored? I certainly did. This complaint was usually met with one of the following responses: You can clean your room. You can help me (fill in the blank). Here are some books you can read (usually not the books I would’ve chosen). You should study, practice piano, and so on. I learned to keep any boredom I was experiencing to myself.

During the past 10 months, there have definitely been times where I have felt “bored,” for lack of a better word. On the days when I had extra energy to expend, my inner mom voice would tell me to deep clean the house or clean out closets. I would respond to this somewhat annoying voice (inwardly) with the usual, no thank you, that is not exactly what I had in mind to fill my time.

This will probably not come as a revelation to most of you, but only recently did I discover that it is a very rare occasion when we become bored watching anything specifically of God’s creation or a part of nature; those miracles we cannot explain.

I could literally stare at the ocean or a waterfall for hours on end and never feel bored. Do you ever tire of watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset? One year, my husband and I rented a condo on one of our favorite beaches for the month of November. We noticed that as dusk was approaching each day, a large group of residents would gather at picnic tables and chairs around the pool to have a glass of wine and observe the sunset. And every single day without fail they would cheer and applaud the occasion, as if it were the first one they had laid eyes on or maybe would be their last.

Since we didn’t quite feel like a part of the “residents group,” we would grab a snack and some wine, bring the dog, and sit on the balcony to join them in their toast to another day’s glorious sunset. We pulled out our phones to try and capture the perfect photo - always sure that THIS time would be the one. But here’s the thing...they were all perfect, even though each one was a little different. Even on cloudy evenings, we noticed that there were beautiful reflections and colors glowing behind the clouds. Also, if you waited patiently after most folks had returned their chairs and were heading back to their condos, some of the most amazing views happened after the sun had dipped below the horizon. Suddenly, all of these glorious shades of red, orange, pink and purple would radiate across the sky - almost like the reward for sticking around.

Observing the beauty after the beauty made me realize that many times what we consider to be the most remarkable moment we can take in is only a foreshadowing of something even more special on the horizon if we wait for it.

Watching the stars and moon in the nighttime sky; watching birds fly through our yard and land on the feeders; watching squirrels chasing each other on the branches of the barren trees never gets old. I love the lyrics from “Just Around the Riverbend” in the movie Pocahontas:

What I love most about rivers is

You can’t step in the same river twice

The water’s always changing, always flowing

It seems clear that God’s creation is meant for that - to bring us unspeakable and lasting joy and peace - astounding us at every turn.

I’ve heard it said that if heaven is just continual worship and praise, it sounds like a pretty boring existence. Though we may want to compare it to worship and praise services we’ve attended in our lifetime, as wonderful as they may be, I think this will be something different. More of a “watch the sunset or the river flowing” kind of worship and praise experience. I feel like we will hardly be able to take in all that is offered and that the joy will be indescribable - never boring.

I’m glad we have glimpses of this right here and now to give us hope.