I got to go up to the Blue Ridge Parkway with some relatives this past weekend.  It was a great time, not just because the views were amazing, but because it was with people I love.  Between every view was history, culture, memories, jokes, and general chatter.  (Photos coming soon…)

But every time we’d climb out of my aunt’s Ford Explorer to look at the view, my uncle would invariably stand there, taking in the view, and then say, “It’s views like this that lifts the spirits of a person.  It’s impossible to be sad when you see a view like this.”

There was something about standing on a hillside, looking out at the Blue Ridge Mountains, the green valleys, the clouds sailing in puffy cotton balls, that made his heart thrill.  It lifted his spirits; it made him feel alive; it brought him closer to God (he told us that, too).

It’s the power that God has put in His creation, but it’s also our heart connection with God.  It’s impossible to look at something God created in perfection and not have our hearts respond.  God made the earth for His pleasure, so when we see His creation, our hearts respond with the pleasure He also feels when He sees what He has made.

Sometimes when we’re sad or stressed or distracted, all we need to do is to look at God’s creation.  He put something into it that lifts our spirits, that reminds us that God is still in control, that brings us closer to our Creator.

Even after so many years of traveling and hiking, I’m still in awe of God’s creation.  I’m still overwhelmed by the creativity that God put into the world when He created it.  Or in the words of my uncle, “Views like these lift the spirits of a person.”