Yesterday, I went on safari at a national park near where I’m staying here in Kenya. It was amazing. You drive in and within the first five minutes you start seeing herds of live animals you never see in the wilds of America. We saw zebras and antelope first off in the distance. Then, one of just a couple of the rhinos that the park has, he just walked by us like no big deal. We had several cars pass by us afterward stop at our open windows and ask if we saw the rhino and where it was.
Then came the water buffalo and the VeggieTales song runs through my head. But before it’s gone, we see a herds of zebra right on the road. Then a group of giraffes off in the distance eating their breakfast. We see a couple of crazy looking birds.
And the great victory of the day was the lion laying three feet off the road, who posed for minutes for us to take her picture. Then she lead us down the road before she slumped off into the tall grass where we could no longer see her.
It was beautiful. We got to watch the sun rise. See all the life that God created, living so freely. So freely that this park doesn’t actually have fences, so if the lion wants to wander the five miles to my front door, she could. Every new site was like, “Wow, isn’t God amazing?! They are so unique!” And its true, he created them all. And they’re all different. And they all have ways to protect themselves that he sorted out so they could continue to live. And they don’t all eat the same thing so that the food doesn’t run out. And the birds take free rides on the backs of the buffalo to eat the bugs there.
But then, we see our 10th herd of zebras and it’s just like, ok, more zebras. And the antelope all look the same after the 100th one. And the wide open plains blend together. And I become immune to the beauty Jesus created. How many times does that happen in our lives? How many times do you wake up before 6 a.m. and don’t even look out the window to see the sun rise anymore?
Jesus, let me never grow immune to you. I want always to be amazed at your great work. Don’t let the world get in the way of the world – of the creation – of the beauty – of your beauty. You never grow stale. You aren’t dull. You don’t look the same after we’ve seen you 100 times. All the uniqueness you created, you’re more unique. I pray that my brain stops forgetting that.
Kate And the Deaf 