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| Eyjafjoll, Iceland |
It has been more than a week since we arrived back in Singapore. We were in Iceland for 10 days, and another 4 days in Helsinki and Tallinn. A combination of very long daylight, an Icelandic summer that is not too hot to stay outdoors, and having so much to see, meant that I could only squeeze in 1 blogpost in the whole of the 2 weeks vacation.
Iceland is virtually impossible to sum up, whether in words, photos or videos. I didn't leave a photo hotspot feeling like I've satisfied my urge to completely capture what I saw. I just had to nudge the family along because there were still so much to see. It helps me to appreciate what may have prompted the psalmist to sing "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked (Psalm 84:10). When we catch a glimpse of the unfathomable beauty of God's presence, we would surely say the same thing.
The country is every geologist's dream. There are signs to provide the scientific explanation or theory for every strange natural structure that we came across. No matter how strange or odd a natural structure seemed, there is an attempt to explain the what, when, and how. I won't pretend to understand many of the things I read, even those written in English. We gain an appreciate that we are just sojourners who are privileged to witness the hand of time. We will never know enough about this world because we were not there right from the beginning of time. We are part of creation, not the Creator. For me, it makes complete sense to attribute these natural wonders to a creative God rather than to claim that everything is an amazing random occurrence. If everything is random, what is the point of science?
On the second day in Iceland, I was jetlagged and woke up to a very bright morning at 4am. We were staying in Eyvindarholar, and behind our cabin were the beautiful snow-capped Eyjafjoll Mountains. Wide awake, I decided to take a walk there. When I saw the full view of the mountains, the first word that came to mind was “Majesty”. I was there all by myself surrounded by these mountains, and the only sounds I heard were from the streams running down the mountains. What a privilege. On the next day, I came back with my daughter to do a 2-hour return hike to Seljavallalaug, one of the oldest geothermal pools in Iceland, at the base of the Mountains. Great memories swimming in the pool with my adventurous girl.
The sights in Iceland echo the Majesty of our Creator God. We cannot fully put into words what we saw and heard; all we could do was to merely stand in awe and give praise to Him. And from the encounters with the many breath-taking waterfalls, I now have a human appreciation of Revelations 14:2 “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.”
The country is every geologist's dream. There are signs to provide the scientific explanation or theory for every strange natural structure that we came across. No matter how strange or odd a natural structure seemed, there is an attempt to explain the what, when, and how. I won't pretend to understand many of the things I read, even those written in English. We gain an appreciate that we are just sojourners who are privileged to witness the hand of time. We will never know enough about this world because we were not there right from the beginning of time. We are part of creation, not the Creator. For me, it makes complete sense to attribute these natural wonders to a creative God rather than to claim that everything is an amazing random occurrence. If everything is random, what is the point of science?
On the second day in Iceland, I was jetlagged and woke up to a very bright morning at 4am. We were staying in Eyvindarholar, and behind our cabin were the beautiful snow-capped Eyjafjoll Mountains. Wide awake, I decided to take a walk there. When I saw the full view of the mountains, the first word that came to mind was “Majesty”. I was there all by myself surrounded by these mountains, and the only sounds I heard were from the streams running down the mountains. What a privilege. On the next day, I came back with my daughter to do a 2-hour return hike to Seljavallalaug, one of the oldest geothermal pools in Iceland, at the base of the Mountains. Great memories swimming in the pool with my adventurous girl.
The sights in Iceland echo the Majesty of our Creator God. We cannot fully put into words what we saw and heard; all we could do was to merely stand in awe and give praise to Him. And from the encounters with the many breath-taking waterfalls, I now have a human appreciation of Revelations 14:2 “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.”
Splendour and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary
~ Psalm 96:6
