During the pandemic, my family has taken to visiting state parks near Madison. In early November, on an unseasonably warm day, we drove out to Devil’s Lake for a picnic and short hike. Along the trail, I stopped to read an informational sign that pointed out that the distinctive quartz cliffs in the park are extremely young by geological standards, having been formed during the last ice age, about twelve thousand years ago.
Every time I encounter information about geology, I am struck again by the vastness of earth’s history. That twelve thousand years is simply a tiny blip in the course of time reminds me of God’s greatness. In another time of upheaval and fear, the prophet Daniel wrote of a vision of God in which he referred to God as “The Ancient One,” and to God’s messenger as the one to whom everything belongs forever. God’s reign, Daniel reminds us, is one that shall never be destroyed.
These months of pandemic have seemed interminable, but scripture reminds us that we belong to God, and that God’s love never ends. May this truth give us hope.
As I remember your greatness, O God, give me wonder and a measure of your strength, for you are faithful and your mercy endures forever. Amen.
Rev. Emily Tveite, Campus Pastor
“I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.”
-Daniel 7:13-14
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