wonder of the wrinkly, wild & wise

This. This right here is a dream I’ve had since I was little, and it came true in Kruger Park, South Africa. 

I’ve loved elephants my entire life. I’ve studied them in school. Researched and wrote essays on them. Claimed them as my favorite animal since I was a kid. Visited them in zoos. Made models of their trunks. But this. Seeing them and all their beauty, this up close and personal, moved me in such a profound way. You see, an elephant in and of itself is captivating. But looking at one and seeing the Lord in the ways He’s specifically shown me over the past year? Nothing like it. 

It was so wild to watch every little detail and wrinkle on their body shift and move to their slow, steady steps. All I could think was, how incredible is it that these creatures so magnificently reflect our Creator? Each little detail on their body has such great detail. 

I keep on staring at these pictures because I just can’t grasp how these elephants so wonderfully reflect the God I’ve come to know in a personal way this past year. I keep trying to wrap my mind around it, but it continues to leave me in a state of awe. 

I think it’s so sweet that I have the same Maker  as these breathtaking elephants and that my Maker also so wonderfully created me. It’s easy for me to forget that the Lord looks on at me so lovingly and wonder-filled, just as I look upon these elephants. I’ve studied every little detail in their skin, and my Maker has studied me that much more. He knows every little thing about me. Every. Little. Thing. I take such comfort in knowing just how known and loved I am. It makes me want to weep in wonder. I’m known because I’ve been intricately woven together by God and I’m loved because I’m His wonderfully created work who He delights in. Who He adores. He loves every little wrinkle about me.I desire to love every little wrinkle about myself too. 

In these photos, I see the character of a God who is just so wildly intentional. He’s so intentional to create these beautiful animals, with beautiful lands to roam. He’s also that intentional to create beautiful spaces for me to abide in. He gave me Jesus, the ultimate place to abide. He gave me a beautiful mind and imagination in which I am free to roam. He gave me emotions to add depth to the places I experience. He gave me a family and home where I can live (my own family and house in CO but also my Squad B family here in Swazi). He created such a unique and wonderfully wild world for me to explore. He’s so intentional like that. He’s so intentional to not only create things He knows we will love but to actually take us to these places we love.Abba is wild in His intentionalityin His pursuit of our hearts, and I seek to be more like Him in that. 

I see these creatures as so majestic and wise. There is just something about them, as they look into your eyes as they walk by. They walk with so much dignity and carry themselves with poise. There is so much depth and peace behind their approach to movement, connection and life. Looking into their eyes felt like looking at their heart and into their mind. It reminded me of how the Lord approaches everything with such wisdom and peace. This beautiful, wonderful approach that is a reflection of His heart. He doesn’t have to, but Abba desires to show us His heart behind His actions, plans and promises. I love that. I seek to approach everything with the peace and wisdom and poise that He does. And with the openness of constantly sharing His heart.