Creation

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.  Genesis 1:1-2

Beginnings matter.  Where you start a story sets the tone and leaves an impression in the hearts of the listeners.  Take, for example, the first date with my wife.  I could the start the story by telling you about how I was willing to see a movie a second time...which clearly tells you that I am a caring guy.  Or she might start the story by telling you that she had to call me and that I did not return her phone call right away.  I would, of course, chime in and say my parents were in town at the time.  And we converse in loud, emphatic voices about the reasonableness of this excuse.  Or we could start the story years before, in college, when we were both at young adult retreat and I can still remember the flannel shirt she wore...again proving my caring nature.
So beginnings matter.  Beginnings set a trajectory toward the ending and chart the course for where you will go.  Start a story with a sad statement, and it is hard to start making jokes, it is too much of an emotional roller-coaster.  Start with humor, and it takes a while for people to know if you are joking or serious.
Genesis, the beginning of Scripture, starts with some amazing forest-for-the-trees views.  God begins to create with a voice.  I often have imagined that God must have been at the edge of the universe singing out with gusto and the sound of God's voices echoing...echoing...echoing all around.  But, recently, it was pointed out that God could have whisper like a mother to her infant.  That gives a different spin on these traditional words.
I love that God's spirit surfs and stirs over the chaos in the beginning.  If that is the first act, can we trust and be open for God stirring in the chaos of our daily lives?  Think about what feels chaotic for you right now:

Are you trying to get your kids back into the school routine?  (Don't get me started on the pick up and drop off lines at school...take about Lord of the Flies kind of chaos!)

Is there tension at your job or family?  Relationships change in the blink of an eye and can invite chaos into our lives before it knocks on the door.

Is there a health concern bringing chaos into your life?  There are certain words a doctor speaks in the sterile examine rooms that send our minds spinning and stirring in chaos.

Are you struggling with purpose and meaning?  The dance between our minds, hearts and bodies, the call to leave our fingerprints on this world in beautiful ways can be unsettling and wreak havoc sometimes in our lives.

What other ways am I missing?

Chaos remains an undercurrent in our world.  Chaos still surges and sloshes around.  Chaos is reported on nightly in the news and is stirred up by politicians looking to grab headlines.

And while we could focus all our attention on the chaos, where is the creative spirit of God moving in your life right now?  What feels new or re-newed in your life right now?  Genesis 2 will tell us about God's divine breath infused and enlivening all that is around us.  How are you catching wind of our still-creating God right now?

There is a holy dance between chaos and creativity.  There is a sacred two-step that is woven into our world from the very beginning.  In what ways do you find that to be true?  In what ways does Genesis 1 and 2 still get stuck in the mud and muck of "science verses religion" debates?

Take some time this week...better yet today...to dust off your bible you got in grade school and re-read these words.  How do they settle into your hearts right now?

I pray you will sense MORE than a trace of God's grace as you do so.

Blessings ~