A boy. A bike. A beautiful afternoon. Brandon hopped on his Huffy and pedaled down the road. The wind felt good on his face. He pedaled faster. He wondered if a bird felt like this when it soared through the air. He pedaled some more.

But birds get tired. So do boys. Brandon stopped near a secluded creek. He left his bicycle near the path and stepped through fallen branches and brush to get to the water’s edge. Sunlight filtered through the treetops and made the murky water twinkle. Brandon chose an inviting tree trunk to settle down against and rest.

Alone. Silence. He was aware of the stillness. The plunk! plink! ca-caw! SWOOSH! A frog. A beetle. A crow. A gust of wind through the trees. He was not alone. It was not so silent. It was not so still.

Brandon looked from side to side as first one creature fluttered and then another scurried or swam. He studied the rows of rippling circles that grew like exploding fireworks whenever a fish touched the surface of the water. He felt the cushion of moss that had blanketed itself over a rotting log. What an amazing place! What a wonderful world! Brandon blinked as a bit of sunlight found its way into his eyes. Then a thought occurred to him. Could there be more to these things than he realized? Might this all be a living picture of other things—things even more wonderful than this world? He found himself humming a tune he knew so well—and the words to the melody made him smile:

The spacious heav’ns declare the glory of our God,

The firmament displays His handiwork abroad;

Day unto day proclaims His might,

And night His wisdom tells to night.

Brandon looked around again. How could anyone ever decipher all the truths that nature tells? But wait— Scripture speaks of God’s wisdom and might. In the light of Scripture it can be done!

Brandon wished he could stay here all day, but it was time to go. Perhaps he had begun to understand at least a little about nature.

Indeed, he had begun to open the pages of a most elegant book.

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Connie is the mother of 5 and attends Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Walker, Michigan.