A World Begins to Awaken

Before the trees, before the birds, and before anyone could look up at the sky, God was already there. The Bible begins by saying that God created the heavens and the earth. Our world had not always looked the way we know it.

The earth was without form and empty. Darkness covered the waters, and the Spirit of God moved over them. There was no path to walk along, no flower to smell, and no house where someone could live.

Then God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. What had been dark began to shine. God saw that the light was good and separated it from the darkness. He called the light Day and the darkness Night.

Evening passed, and morning came. That was the first day. Creation had begun. Many things were still to come, but the first light was already part of the world God was preparing.

On the second day, God made an expanse in the middle of the waters: an open space he called Sky. He separated the waters below from the waters above. The world was taking shape.

No birds crossed that open sky yet. No trees lifted their branches. The second day ended; other wonders would come later.

The third day began. God commanded the waters beneath the sky to gather in one place and dry ground to appear. The waters gathered, and the dry ground came into view. Now there were shores and places where plants would later grow.

God called the dry ground Land and the gathered waters Seas. He saw that it was good. Water had its place, and so did land. A world that had been empty was beginning to show different spaces, ready for what would come next.

We can imagine the beauty of that newly formed earth: hills, rivers, and pleasant landscapes. It was not yet a world full of people and animals. It was the beginning of a home that God would keep preparing with care.

When we look at a shore, an open sky, or light coming through a window, we can remember this first part of the story. The little things we see each day belong to a world that began with God’s work.

Light, sky, land, and seas had their places. God had prepared the spaces of the world. Soon the earth would receive a covering of green.