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Topic: Blue (10/08/09)
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TITLE: Crystal Clear | Previous Challenge Entry
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10/14/09 -
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“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20 NIV
It was almost impossible to fathom. Every inch of the view was bursting with raw elegance. No other place I had been was as breath-taking and life-giving all at once. The helicopter’s propellers whirled above, casting moving shadows on the treetops below and lifting us over the mountain peaks with steady grace. It was as if we were looking down at creation from the heavens. And it was good.
For three days, my daughters, husband and I had been in Alaska. From a train ride along the rocky coast to a cruise through Glacier Bay, we had a front-row seat to the greatest show on earth. Even the weather cooperated on cue. Dreary clouds halted their misty march in time to unveil glaciers that had been there all along. God’s timing was perfect and the ice was gorgeous, sparkling clean and blue in the sunlight. Every day of the journey had been filled with wonder.
Now, as the helicopter began to descend, we were minutes away from landing on the huge blue glacier below for a closer look.
“I wonder what makes it blue?” my youngest daughter Mary asked.
The blue was striking, and we all began to consider the question. Of course we all had our theories. My husband, Ken, suggested that the ice was reflecting the sky. I guessed that the blue was an illusion, a trick of the eye. My oldest daughter Sarah came up with a convincing theory about the temperature of molecules in the ice. But despite raising the issue, Mary did not contribute to the theories. Rather, she remained quiet and thoughtful as we continued our glorious ride.
Once we landed we were enthralled with walking on the glacier. We were able to explore the majestic terrain with the help of a guide who navigated us around large crevasses and glacier ponds before inviting us to take a drink of icy-cold glacier water. When the Q & A part of the tour arrived, I encouraged Mary to ask her question about the blue ice, but she no longer seemed interested. Ken, however, decided that he would satisfy his curiosity and asked.
“A lot of people ask that,” the tour guide said. “Simply put, it is because the full-spectrum of sunlight is absorbed by glacier ice except for blue - it is reflected and makes the ice look blue.”
With that explanation, the mystery was solved, and we finished the tour before once again boarding the helicopter. The sights on the return flight were equally amazing. We sat in silence, taking pictures of it with our cameras and our minds. We were rendered speechless by the sheer power of the land’s immense splendor. Finally, I broke the stillness.
“Why didn’t you want to ask the tour guide about the blue ice, Mary?” I whispered.
“I didn’t need to,” she whispered back. “I already asked God.”
She had my attention, so I encouraged her to tell me more.
“With all the colors of the rainbow, I knew there had to be a reason why God chose blue, so I asked Him. I thought maybe it was His favorite color. Really though it’s because He knows we can’t see everything like He does.” Mary explained. “Because He loves us, he only shows us what we need to see. That way we don’t have to think about everything all at once like He can. God says the glaciers are blue because He made them that way. He was happy we noticed.”
By now, Mary’s voice had grown louder with her enthusiasm, so Ken and Sarah overheard her. The guide’s explanation may have provided a textbook answer about the ice, but Mary’s was so much more real to us.
We all looked at each other and our magnificent view and felt completely surrounded by our Father’s great love. Not only was He looking back at us from the mountains and valleys, but His hand was evident in the details of every leaf, flower and color that He had chosen to show us. God was unmistakably everywhere. And based on what He had shown us so far, He was definitely in Alaska, especially in the crystal blue glaciers. Actually now, with God as our guide, everything seemed crystal...crystal clear.
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