Genesis 1

Well now, I have read this chapter of the Bible MANY times.  SO many times, in fact, that it was tempting to simply skim over it, but I didn't think that would be a good start to my journey.  I forced myself to slow down and really look at the words.  Two verses struck me in this chapter.  One of them has impacted me before, but one of them really surprised me!

Verse #1:  Genesis 1:17 "God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,"
This verse might not seem that special to you, but what struck me was the word set.  As I read that word immediately this image of God intricately placing the Sun and the Moon into the sky came into my head.  As I thought about that, I smiled, thinking of how much joy it must have brought God to create all of these amazing things!  I thought about how he must have smiled as he created the blue whale, how he may have laughed-does God laugh??-as he created the monkey, how beautiful the millions of beaches must have seemed to him as he laid them out with their millions of grains of sand.  It just made me smile, and even as I write this, it really makes me think about how truly amazing this wonderful Earth is.  I think that often, as I am incredibly blessed to live in what I think is one of the most beautiful PLACES on Earth.  Sometimes when I am on the island taking a walk I can't help but stop and smile and say THANK YOU LORD for how gorgeous it all is.

This verse also made me think about how truly creative God is.  I mean, we think of Him as the Creator, but I forget that within that very word is the word CREATE and CREATIVE comes from that.  God is so incredibly creative!

Verse #2:  Genesis 1:27 "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female, he created them."
I don't think that we are actual physical representations of God...I think He is too amazing for us to even conjure up an image of what He might possibly look like.  What I DO think is that we are made as reflections of God's glory.  When I thought about this, I realized something...I am a living breathing reflection of the glory of God, therefore I shouldn't be so down on myself all of the time.  There are so many times that I feel inadequate, or have a low sense of self worth, but that is CRAZY!  I am a reflection of God.  He chose to make me, and not only to make me, but to make me in His image.  With that thought in mind, I just want to smile.  It doesn't matter if I am not as gifted as this person as a writer, or if my pre-pregnancy pants don't quite fit yet, or if my hair seems a little too curly...I AM A REFLECTION OF GOD'S GLORY AND I NEED TO LIVE MY LIFE LIKE I BELIEVE IT!  I should feel positive about myself.  I should know that I have worth to God, and to others around me as well.

The first chapter of Genesis looked different to me today than ever before.  I hope that I can stick with this journey and have my eyes opened in new ways!