I remember the first time I truly understood the awesome majesty of creation. I’d had a few glimmers of appreciation, but it wasn’t until a camping trip with a few friends in college that I fully grasped what I was looking at.

We had driven out to Kaiser Peak, literally on the edge of the wilderness, to look at the stars. As we’re all staring awestruck at the great swath of the Milky Way and the clarity of constellations unhindered by the usual light pollution, one of my friends casually commented, “It’s kind of cool that God created all these stars thinking they would be beautiful, and here we are now, thinking the same thing.” I was struck dumb. It had never even crossed my mind to connect my enjoyment of Creation with the Creator’s own enjoyment of it. As stewards of this land, we have a responsibility to love and cherish that which God created, and also cherishes.