{"id":40950,"date":"2013-08-01T06:15:47","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T11:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=40950"},"modified":"2013-07-31T00:42:59","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T05:42:59","slug":"seeing-god-in-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/08\/seeing-god-in-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing God in Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Grand<\/a>

Grand Parismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Rita Suva.<\/p><\/div> Whenever I am out truly experiencing nature (ie, I\u2019m not just sitting inside my house staring out the front door at the lawn), such as amongst Texas wildflowers, in a national park, hiking in the mountains, etc, I always have a moment (or several) of \u201cHow can someone see all this and deny that God exists?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in those moments of witnessing the beauty and awesomeness of nature that I feel and recognize God\u2019s presence and purpose. This happens because I begin to do more than just view or notice God\u2019s creation and say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s pretty,\u201d but I see <\/em><\/strong>God\u2019s creation and recognize how it reflects God in its beauty and purpose. My murmurs and thoughts of \u201cThat\u2019s pretty\u201d become silent moments of wonder and awe at God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n

I see God in the trees and in the sky. I see God in the insects (even those darn mosquitoes) and in the birds. I see God in the rivers and in the mountains. I see God in the rocks and in the flowers. Yes, I see God\u2019s thumbprint all over His handiwork. Everywhere. Sometimes when I\u2019m admiring a vista, I think to myself, \u201cIf God saw fit to make all this beauty, He had a purpose behind it. Even if that purpose was for beauty itself. Because it is in beauty that we see God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Double<\/a>

Double Arches in Arches National Park. Photo by Rita Suva.<\/p><\/div>\n

For some people, nature is the primary way they experience God. The feeling and ability to recognize God in nature is more than a feeling many of us care inside our souls. Scripture says one way we can know God is through nature: \u201cEver since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.\u201d (Romans 1:20)<\/p>\n

Or, in one of my favorite verses about God in creation, \u201cBut now ask the beasts to teach you, the birds of the air to tell you; Or speak to the earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mortal flesh.\u201d (Job 12:7-10)<\/p>\n

\"Bluebonnets<\/a>

Bluebonnets in the Texas Hillcountry. Photo by Rita Suva.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes people will use their relationship with God in nature as a reason to not attend Mass. Please don\u2019t do that! Just because you can experience God in nature and maybe even hear him better while out in nature doesn\u2019t mean you can skip Mass. As Catholics we need to be part of a community, which is part of the reason we attend church with others. <\/p>\n

Spending time in creation can connect, or reconnect, many of with God. Time in God\u2019s creation, out in nature, takes us away from technology and noise and busyness. It removes us from our regular comforts of things like air conditioning. It provides us with a chance to silence ourselves, quiet our souls and to pay attention to our surroundings and listen to God.<\/p>\n

\"Trout<\/a>

Trout Lake in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Rita Suva.<\/p><\/div>
\nSo if you haven\u2019t gone out on a hike or enjoyed a local park recently, why not go soon? (Well, relatively soon. Even though we can recognize God\u2019s presence in things like the heat and the sun, we need to be cautious when out in Texas heat.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whenever I am out truly experiencing nature (ie, I\u2019m not just sitting inside my house staring out the front door at the lawn), such as amongst Texas wildflowers, in a national park, hiking in the mountains, etc, I always have a moment (or several) of \u201cHow can someone see all this and deny that God… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[1190,1892,50,131,1894,1893,859],"class_list":{"0":"post-40950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-beauty","8":"tag-creation","9":"tag-faith","10":"tag-mass","11":"tag-nature","12":"tag-seeing-god","13":"tag-spirituality","14":"entry","15":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":129104,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/everything-is-connected-the-ecological-spirituality-of-laudato-si\/","url_meta":{"origin":40950,"position":0},"title":"“Everything is Connected” – The Ecological Spirituality of Laudato Si","author":"Rachel","date":"August 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Everything is connected.\" This phrase of Pope Francis could be the link\u00a0that ties the whole of \"Laudato Si\" together and also communicates the core of his message. \"Everything is connected,\" he says, in such a way that as humans and the earth are a part of the same ecological\u00a0fabric, our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Berthold Furtmeyr, The Tree of Death and Life, 1481. 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At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"circular-liturgical-calendar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/circular-liturgical-calendar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":935410,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/935410\/","url_meta":{"origin":40950,"position":2},"title":"Sin? Not a problem.","author":"Rachel","date":"June 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sin? No problem. This Sunday we heard the Gospel reading on the Fall, of the moment sin entered creation and divided all that was meant to be united. Since then the human person has been faced with the conditions of inner division and brokenness as a personal reality and as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sin_-No-problem..png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sin_-No-problem..png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sin_-No-problem..png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Sin_-No-problem..png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1703316,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/angels-dragons-xx-war-in-heaven-rev-127\/","url_meta":{"origin":40950,"position":3},"title":"Angels & Dragons XX: \u201cWar in Heaven\u201d (Rev. 12:7)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"April 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Book of Revelation describes the \u201cWar in Heaven\u201d (Rev. 12:7) between St. Michael and his angels against the Red Dragon and his angels, when a vision of a woman about to give birth is shown to them. 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