The Name Changes Everything

I’m not a nature person.


Oh, don’t misunderstand – I love being outdoors. The grandeur of the vistas overlooking the purple mountain majesties call my soul to sing. The mystery of the fog slowly lifting off the Montreal River on a cold Canadian morning fills me with joyful expectancy of new mercies. The splendor of sunset giving way to starlight in the gentle Lake Michigan breeze evokes humble gratitude for a Sovereign who never sleeps. Creation: Ever drawing the eyes of my heart toward its Source.

But nature? That’s the stuff of zoology, biology, and botany. Identification and classification. The stuff called science and filled with Latin words I can never remember. Nature. Just the word calls to mind failed gardening attempts and indoor plants killed by nourishment neglect.

However, good homeschoolers study nature don’t they? God made it didn’t He? So, loaded with the “how-to” books, I committed to nature studies this year. Preschoolers must, of course, invest in nature studies. So, I’ve dutifully planned an entire section.

But God (my favorite words in all of Scripture) providentially intervened. Martin Cothran’s consideration of the differences between the words nature and creation transformed my perspective. Doesn’t a name make all the difference?

Call it “Creation Studies” and duty is swallowed up in delight. Every aspect of creation’s every part (not just the big stuff) reveals the invisible attributes of my glorious Creator. Creation studies result in wonder. What will we see when all of creation is released from this bondage to decay? There is so much redemptive beauty already evident!

Seeds die to bring life.

 Thorns blossom.

Backyard swamps burst with beautiful color.

Oh I can’t wait till tomorrow when I get to gather my little band of beauty hunters and join all creation in praising the King of Kings!

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

Ps 69:34 ESV