Beauty in a Tadpole

The best thing about working in southern Ohio near the West Virginia border is getting there. When I first got the job, I spent the nearly two-hour long drive staring out the window at the rugged hills, green pastures and tree-lined ridges overlooking the Ohio River. Winter revealed a whole new world out my window as rocky outcroppings, cliffs, and endless valleys, that had been hidden when the leaves were full, came into view. That was four years ago.

I still take the same route to the jagged southeastern tip of Ohio just before you cross over into West Virginia. The trees and cliffs and valleys carved by a relentless river are still there. Suddenly, though, I realized I was no longer as amazed by the splendor laid out for my pleasure as I had been when I first started working there. Instead of noticing the beauty and glorious creation around me, I focused on the work ahead of me.

What a shame. When did I get too busy to notice I was in the middle of God’s wondrous creation? Regardless of where any of us are today, there is beauty & wonder all around us. Sometimes we might have to take a moment to find it. But it shouldn’t take long. My grandson just called me outside to see the tadpole he caught. He’s been gathering them out of my rain barrel all day, and he found an amazing specimen with front and back legs and a translucent tail. Even toes. In the history of little boys, I doubt a finer tadpole has ever been scooped out of a rain barrel.

May I always view Creation with the same bright eyes & childlike wonder. The earth is God’s to do with what He will, yet He chose to let us enjoy it and marvel in it for the brief span of time we’re here. Whether it’s a child’s laugh or a blue heron lifting off the water, or a hummingbird making quick work at my feeder, or even a tadpole about to lose his tail, may we never get too bored or distracted or busy to recognize the beauty of the world we live in. A world whose wonders will never cease to be revealed as long as we take the time to notice and be appreciative.

May we never be too busy to hear: “In the rustling grass I hear him pass. He speaks to me everywhere.” This is My Father’s World by Maltbie D. Babcock


When is the last time you've marveled at creation? What glorious wonder took your breath away and reminded you God sees you and loves you and delights in the things you delight in?