A Time and A Season

We emerged from our tent adrift in a sea of golden Populus Tremuloides, the common name for the well-known aspen. Nothing common about our stunning destination secretly lodged deep within the autumn confines of Ashley National Forest in northern Utah. Bugling elk serenade the sunrise. Each boot print crunches down on icy leaves scattered about like amber and peach-colored silver dollars. The air rips the lungs with each frozen inhalation, mellowed only by the fresh aroma of coffee brewing on the camp stove. But ‘inspiration’ rather than ‘inhalation’ night be the better choice of breathing nouns, as it’s not long before the grandness of it all inspires me to make this photograph.

It’s a time and a season such as this that many wonder silently if nature is all just random chance or if it springs from the hand of an intelligent designer. If a box of Alpha Bits cereal on the breakfast table spelled out the words "T-a-k-e o-u-t t-h-e t-r-a-s-h, M-o-m", we wouldn't conclude that the box of cereal just happened to tip over and the little letters fell into this order on its own. The presence of a message implies a sender. Why, then, do we assume that nature, which is infinitely more complex than a single sentence, is the product of random chance? This passage from the book of Romans says it all:

For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.