“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Exodus 3:5
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, yet no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Some years ago, as I walked across the grassy sideline toward the field where my daughter was playing soccer, this thought hit me like a thunderbolt from Heaven (and maybe that’s what it was): “You are standing on holy ground!”
What?
Now this is no storyline for me like that for Moses when he saw a burning bush (Exodus 3:5) or for Joshua just before he led the Israelites around the walls of Jericho (Joshua 5:15). They each heard this warning: “Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground.” Moses heard the voice of God. Joshua was warned by an angelic messenger.
Me? My holy ground experience did not include a world-changing mission from God. Rather, I had a Donna-changing revelation of God’s character and glory. It is an insight that has stayed remarkably strong within me for many years. I remember it almost every time I look out at green woodlands or gardens.
Here’s what happened that day near the soccer field, when God spoke to me simply, through the sensibilities of my personality and training. Being a scientist, I heard from God in a natural way through a series of somewhat wonky thoughts, as follows:
As I walked on the lawn, I became intensely aware that my every step crushed multiple blades of grass. And – yikes – these bits of grass were not just shafts of homogenous green matter! Rather, each and every blade was massively complex, containing a nested, elaborate, interconnected network of many structures of astounding beauty and engineering – each component also complex, all the way down to the molecular level.
You can “see” what I mean in
this animated tour into the depths of a leaf. (Important: press the CC button at the bottom of the video to see the words.)
As I continued toward the soccer field, I was overwhelmed with the awareness that there were an uncountable number of grass blades on just that patch of lawn... that there were many more lawns in my town... that there were an unimaginable number of grass blades in the world... AND, never mind trying to comprehend the total mass of green, living, interacting organisms of unbelievable complexity that cover our planet’s surface! (Such as those seen
here.)
It’s too much.
On this majesty crush unholy feet. Mine.
Cast down these eyes to see and adore,
and worship the God of life.
Heaven’s golden streets must be holy beyond human comprehension. About all I can handle now is grass.
God bless you!
Donna
