Filed under: In God's Country
article by J.D. Huitt
Last Christmas, my wife and I recieved a gift from a good friend of ours. It was a turkey feather that had painted on it a scene of two gobblers strutting in the presence of a hen in a spring meadow. To see the detail that was put into this work is nothing short of amazing. Even now, I have no idea how the artist did it. To be able to paint with such precision and depth is impressive enough, but to do it all on the delicate surface of a turkey feather take the craft to an all new level.
As I sat there admiring the gift, I immediately wanted to know who the artist was. I wanted to know how she had kept the feathers from bunching up and what she had to do to give such detail to the painting. I wondered what other works she had created. More than anything, I wanted to meet the artist in person and see what else there was to her work.
I often get the same feeling when I’m out in the woods. Everytime I go out (and especially during turkey season) I’m awestruck by the details of nature. But there’s more, because being awestruck by the art makes me want to know more about the artist.
There’s a great verse in the Bible (Romans 1:20, to be exact) that talks about how the qualities of God can be clearly seen through nature. It goes on to say that in light of this, nobody has an excuse for not knowing Him. Everybody that says they love to hunt or fish is essentially saying that they love the artwork of God, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s knowing the artist that really counts. Not only does it enhance the experience of being in God’s creation, but in enhances every other aspect of life also.
