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Years ago, there was a young Lebanese woman in my church named, Adeline. Addy had grown up in Beirut during the war and though she often talked about her fear-ridden childhood, she also lamented how much she missed Lebanon. I found that intriguing so I asked questions. Before long an amazing picture of Lebanon emerged as I listened to Adeline describe her childhood summers spent in the high country of Lebanon’s mountains, far from Beirut. Her description of crisp fresh mountain air heavy with the smell of cedars and furs, the sound of streams rushing over rocks and of gentle winds in the tops of towering pines, all took my breath away and gave me a whole new perception. Lebanon suddenly became fascinating!
Glitz and glamor, mansions and expensive lifestyles have never impressed me; never felt alluring. For as long as I can remember, it’s nature that’s captivated me and given me my deepest sense of home. I grew up in the country surrounded by cornfields, wheat fields, and cow pastures. We had dogs and cats and my sister’s pet raccoons! My Grandpa had chickens and rabbits and cows and horses and ninety ponies! That’s right, ninety! All my family had huge gardens and I played outside barefoot from May to September.
At an early age, I discovered that nature speaks far better than words.
So when I did a study in the Song of Solomon and found the Bride refer to her Bridegroom as “Lebanon” I was instantly swept away by visions of Lebanese landscapes painting my Lord’s beauty in bold vivid strokes, more exquisitely than words could ever!
HE IS fresh mountain air, crisp and cool in the morning. HE IS peaceful streams, forever flowing pure and crystal clear. HE IS lovely sun-warmed mountain meadows and groves of cedars reaching for the sky. HE is the sound of the wind in the tops of towering pines, heard while the rest of the world lays silent. Ah….yes, Lord Jesus, “You are Lebanon.”
[SONG]
“God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in His thick clouds and yet the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with His clouds. He created the horizon when He separated the waters; …By His power, the sea grows calm…His Spirit makes the heavens beautiful…. These are just the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of HIM.” Job 26: 7-14
Such splendor and yet only the outer fringe of His work; a faint whisper of His real beauty!
Still, nature’s display of Him echos through every corner of the globe. Whoever can hear with their eyes and see with their souls, can catch a faint whisper of Him in this earth He created. His whispers are like steady waves on the seashore; they leave us longing for something we don’t quite know. Something we’ve never known only ached to find.
The older I get the more I’m drawn to search out those faint whispers my Lord has hidden away in creation. The more I do, the more comforting they become. I somehow feel Him when I watch a winter blue sky fade into amazing shades of frosty grey, then vanish into a sunset of rose and peach and soft yellow. I sense His still small voice in gentle rain and a silent snowfall. I get lost in the sweet wonder of a star-filled sky or a moonlit night. There’s no comfort for a melancholy soul like the comfort of an autumn landscape covered in vibrant colors, boldly proclaiming that His beauty stands out best in the face of change and uncertainty.
These whispers calm my restless spirit and speak peace to my troubled soul. They paint dazzling pictures of sovereign perfection, for me to touch and feel and taste and see.
HE is my Lebanon …. HE IS BEAUTY….
Sing to me Beauty; let Your voice lead the way– in Your words, I’ll find the things I couldn’t say…. Oh how I’ve longed to write a love song just for You, but on my own, I found it was just another thing I couldn’t do… Whisper the reason why the sun hides away and some days are so gray; tell me, how do the seasons of earth and of the seasons of my soul know exactly when to change…. and Lord, who on earth could find a language or a line to describe the beauty of Your designs—no one. No other one but You.
It’s in the way You will the winds of the Spirit to calm the oceans of my restless soul… That’s who You are to me and You are all I will ever need. No other one, only YOU…Let me say as I am falling on my face, that I am lacking better words but I just write these anyway…. No other One, there is just no other like You…not my children, not my husband, not myself; not my comfort ….No other one but You…and there’s no one else like YOU!
[SONG] No Other One by Rachael Lampa
Based on lyrics from Songwriters: Rachael Lampa / Tommy L. Sims No Other One lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Sacred Wanderings 