By Xiaoye, Italy
A friend told me: “There is a beautiful Lake Albano with an area of nearly 5 square kilometers near Rome, in an oval form surrounded by two volcanos. The lake is very calm. On a fine day, the surrounding scene, such as mountains, trees, flowers and grasses, are clearly reflected in it. Seen from afar, it’s just like a bright mirror trimmed with lace. And some unknown birds occasionally flitting over the lake enhance its beauty. This lake attracts many tourists from home and abroad all the year round.”
Hearing her talking about the lake so agreeably, it seemed as if its beautiful scene was presented before my eyes. At that time, my heart had been there.
One day, in my spare time, I finished packing casually and got ready to start off to Lake Albano. I decided to ride my bike there, for it is not far from my house and I enjoyed a journey of slow rhythm.
When I reached a large farm, I saw a vineyard and an olive grove spread out on the slope, just like a three-dimensional landscape painting. The paths crisscrossed the fields and undulated with the unevenness of the soil, adding stereoscopic vision to this painting. Take a close look. The vines were loaded with clusters of grapes and the olive trees widely stretched branches to improve the beauty of the view with their distinctiveness, and it was as if they greeted me.
I left the farm and continued to advance. Before I went far, it began to grow dark and the light rain fell down. Then I looked at the mountains in the distance: Range upon range of mountains with luxuriant vegetation appeared vaguely in the drizzling rain, which was full of rhythm like a Chinese painting. I could not help but sigh: Who designed this? In addition, bunches of rape flowers, with bright yellow petals and green leaves, filled the wide field with vitality. The scent of flowers wafted to me, refreshing, soothing and relaxing.
I went over a hill and finally saw Lake Albano. Seen from high, the hills, being wreathed in the misty rain, looked dreamy. Besides, it can faintly be seen that the sky touched the hills and the hills joined the lake, being closely related. The lake looked like a green emerald, still beautiful in unfavorable weather. And the company of fine rain lent more poetic sentiment to the view. I felt as if I was standing in a landscape painting.
It rained more heavily that I had to find shelter to take a break. Riding along the road, I saw rare passers-by hurrying on and some cars whizzing past me. Later, I turned into a restaurant. It was quite a lovely place and the waiters were kind. I ordered a pizza. After I finished it, my cold and tiredness were gone, and I got some strength back for the next journey.
Finally, I came to the center of my journey—Lake Albano. Approaching the edge of the lake, I found the lake was still, encompassed by the high hills standing around. I got nearer the lake to have a close look: It was so clear as to reveal its bottom. And tiny raindrops plunged into the lake, as if falling into a translucent plate of jade, splashing lots of pearly water-drops. I didn’t know how to describe the fine view before my eyes, but could only capture that moment as my memory. Then I looked up Lake Albano on the cellphone and found that It had hosted the canoeing and rowing events of the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome. As it turned out, this lake once had a splendid history, but now it was so quiet.
Recalling all the wonderful flowers, grasses, trees, mountains, lake and other things I had seen during the journey, I felt really pleased and refreshed. I remembered God’s words, “In the time before mankind appeared in the world, the Creator used His power and authority to create all things for mankind, and employed His unique methods to prepare a suitable living environment for mankind. All that He did was in preparation for mankind, who would soon receive His breath. This is to say, in the time before mankind was created, the authority of God was shown forth in all creatures different from mankind, in things as great as the heavens, the lights, the seas, and the land, and in those as small as animals and birds, as well as in all sorts of insects and microorganisms, including various bacteria invisible to the naked eye. Each was given life by the words of the Creator, each proliferated because of the words of the Creator, and each lived under the sovereignty of the Creator because of His words. … The manner in which the Creator exerts His authority does not rigidly adhere to a macro or micro viewpoint, and is not limited to any form; He is able to command the operations of the universe and hold sovereignty over the life and death of all things, and, moreover, He is able to maneuver all things so that they serve Him; He can manage all the workings of the mountains, rivers, and lakes, and rule all things within them, and, beyond that, He is able to provide that which is needed by all things. This is the manifestation of the unique authority of the Creator amongst all things besides mankind. Such a manifestation is not just for a lifetime; it will never cease, nor rest, and it cannot be altered or damaged by any person or thing, nor can it be added to or reduced by any person or thing—for none can replace the identity of the Creator, and, therefore, the authority of the Creator cannot be replaced by any created being; it is unattainable by any non-created being.”
All things God created are abundant in kind, such as mountains, rivers and lakes, birds and beasts, and fish in the sea as well as all the plants on the earth. Can anyone limit the manner in which God created all things to a single form? Besides, all things created by God are full of vitality, such as high mountains, vast seas, turbulent rivers, and the vines, the olive trees, the rape flowers and the green grasses that I saw along the way. Take Lake Albano for example. The beauty of its peace is manifesting the wonderful deeds of the Creator. All things live within the laws set down by God, continuing to thrive, and all show forth and bear witness to the Creator’s authority and power. Such might is owned by the Creator alone and such deeds can’t be done by any person or thing.
At that time, the green leaves fluttered in the breeze, as if saying, “It’s the Creator who created us!” I again looked at this beautiful lake, nameless flowers, green grasses, trees, mountains and every other thing around me, and thought, “How can we count out the number of all things God created? Who can praise through their beauty?”
Only then did I gain some knowledge of God’s sovereignty of all things. This most valuable gain brought a perfect end to my journey. Thank God!
