WHEN CREATION STIRS THE HEART
As I set up the freshly painted red rocking chairs on the side deck, added new cushions and a little wooden table for beverages, I quickly snapped a photo.
This morning, I sent it to a few friends and relatives with a simple message: Your rocking chairs are ready for your next visit!
There’s something sweet about sitting together in relaxed conversation with a view straight toward those majestic Montana mountains. And every now and then, God adds a little entertainment—a coyote or bear slipping through the woods nearby. This morning, it was simply a pesky, chirping chipmunk.
As I looked at those chairs, I thought about something Jesus said to His disciples shortly before His death: “In my Father’s house are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you... that where I am, there you may be also.” —John 14:2-3
Jesus knew His disciples were about to experience fear, confusion and deep sadness. So He offered them something they desperately needed: comfort and hope. Isn’t this one of the ways God calms troubled hearts?
When guests sit in those rocking chairs, something seems to settle within us. Conversations slow down. Laughter comes easily. The mountains remind us of something bigger than ourselves. For a little while, the busyness of life fades, and peace takes its place.
Perhaps these moments give us a tiny earthly glimpse of what Heaven will feel like—being together, completely at peace, surrounded by the beauty of our Creator.
That kind of joy reminds me of the powerful song “Joy” by The Choir Room, a Nashville-based, multiracial and multigenerational gospel singing movement founded by three-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Dwan Hill.
Instead of placing an audience in rows facing a stage, The Choir Room brings everyone into a circle around the musicians, inviting them to sing together.
The result? Pure joy.
And isn’t it amazing how God can use something as simple as a rocking chair, a mountain view, a song—or even a chirping chipmunk—to stir our hearts and remind us He is near?
Sometimes creation speaks without saying a word. And sometimes, in the quiet, our troubled hearts finally listen.
Closing Prayer Lord, thank You for the beauty surrounding us and the quiet moments reminding us of Your presence. Calm our hearts, fill us with Your joy, and keep our eyes fixed on the place You are preparing for us. Amen.
