Simple Proclamations

"There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.

There is not an act of kindness or generosity, not an act of sacrifice done, or a word of peace and gentleness spoken, not a child's prayer uttered, that does not sing hymns to God before His throne, and in the eyes of men, and before their faces."
                         ~ Thomas Merton, Seven Storey Mountain p. 129

I came across this passage in Merton's autobiography that I am reading, Seven Storey Mountain,  a book that I highly recommend, especially to those who are inspired by Merton's writings. I thought they were such beautiful thoughts that I'd share them with everyone here.

It also compels me to ask this question to all of you:



In what ways have you seen God's mercy and greatness proclaimed today?



My family and I were blessed to have the morning and early afternoon together, in which we took no time at all to set out to one of our favorite places to go as a family-the state forest not very far from our home.

Along the river's edge my son skipped with joy while throwing stones into its shallow depths. My daughter sitting, criss-cross apple sauce, broke open rocks that she had found. The tiny fragments that glittered like jewels were her "treasures" she was to take home, the bounty of her hard work! My husband tossed sticks that had been washed ashore into the river where our dog eagerly sought them out bringing them back to the carpet of stones that lined the river's curves, but not quite to my husband, forcing him to pick up new sticks while the old were forgotten in her new pursuit.

While everyone was engaged in their activities I breathed deep, feeling the gift that is air fill my lungs. Exhaling I looked around, centered in the moment and all around me life inundated my senses with a beautiful awareness of the greatness and wonder of God. All around me creation was singing into existence a song declaring the amazing  miracle of life God so effortlessly authors into our reality.

These are the things that I noticed, there beside the river, that reminded me of God's greatness and mercy:

...The tender buds appearing on branches that stretched over moss and root, rock and crabgrass. Later they will open up to the world and form countless numbers of leaves, providing abundant shade and coolness, promising us the mercy of protection from the sun's harsh and unrelenting rays in summer...

...The sounds of an infinite number of beginnings and endings, as the clear water rushed down the riverbed. 

...The warm rays of the sun gently caressing my bare skin as the soft breeze danced across it, making me feel amazingly alive.                       

...The wonder in my children's eyes at new, simple discoveries. The skipping of a rock along the water's surface, the glitter and seemingly warm glow of rose quartz. That despite the harsh realities that plague this world from one end to the other: disease, war,  poverty, and an infinite array of others: that despite all of that my beautiful children can sit at the edge of a river on a warm spring afternoon and delight in the richness of nature's simplicities is a great mercy and gift of God indeed!


Please share your experiences and reflections of how you saw God's greatness and mercy proclaimed in your day in the comments section. All thoughts are appreciated and welcome! Thank you. :)