Walking the dog in our neighborhood park this morning yielded a truth I had not considered before. It rained last night, not just a mist or a drizzle but a lot of water fell from the sky. The sound of the wind blowing, the tree branches snapping and the drops hitting the window made it clear this was not a gentle spring rain. When the night ended and the sun began to rise, the evidence of the night before was on the ground all around us at the park. Puddles on the path and in the pasture both yielded an understanding of how much it actually rained. The sound of the creek to my right, which is normally a trickle was rushing water heard even though not seen.

The birds were singing, the squirrels were scampering, the sun was rising and the dog and I were just absorbing all that was around us in great delight. It is the simple things of creation that calibrate the soul to a reality that is not seen. Creation does not sin, so the pace it keeps and the consistency it demonstrates is identifiable. The reason humanity is chaotic, inconsistent and in conflict rather than rest is because of sin. Sin distorts our view of others, sin strangles us in the grip of fear, sin causes us to miss truth in order to hang on to a lie. Sin is exhausting.

Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” The truth is, when we let creation recalibrate us, we find rest we long for, we hear sounds that bring us back to truth that sets us free, and we are invited into the consistency and vibrancy that creation is declaring all around us. What we need is a walk in the park alone in order to recalibrate who we are in Christ, the sinless Lamb of God.