“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4

It’s all so small when you put it into perspective.

Looking out of the plane window and seeing houses, businesses, roads—the world from just a few thousand feet really puts things into perspective. Humanity is such a small portion of the universe. As tiny as the stars in the night sky seem to our flawed eyes, we are so much smaller than the world we engage daily. How often do we elevate the view of ourselves? Our mind believes we rest on such a high platform that others look up to us.

How lofty are our thoughts about our own existence? 

We’ve added design, texture, and creativity, to a perfectly formed earth. We’ve added our own maker’s mark sealed with a stamp of approval as we increasingly fill the voids around and within us with more stuff. Simplicity is no longer simple, it’s just less hustle. Where do we go to escape? Man-made parks? Man-made lakes? More places of busyness to compare ourselves and not feel “as busy” as the next guy? 

The mountains declare God’s wonders. From the ground they are a massive bundle of rocks—hard things that separate one side of the terrain from another. From the worn seats of a jet, they may as well be a model on a basement table. Perspective is a beautiful thing. 

From the ground, the mountains tend to gain grandeur from the valleys that bow at their feet. The curse of the valley is to receive the runoff of waste that can no longer hold to the mountainside. On occasion those valley’s perform their duty of turning that “waste” into lush riverbeds teeming with life. From this perspective, they just seem like faded colors as the shadows cast their blanket. 

Through what lens am I viewing this world? 

Through what lens am I viewing my time here?

As the plane descends the world becomes smaller. We don’t seem so insignificant after all. We haven’t changed but the perspective has. The vision of the bigger picture is no longer visible. No more forest, just trees.

I could shut this window, after all it is bright outside, or I can leave it open. Feel the warm sun on my skin; see the beauty of creation in a way that is rare to me. Lord, may I never tire of your creation or fail to see your artistry on display. The mountains don’t look so high, and the valleys don’t look so deep from 20,000 feet.

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