Earth

Today is Earth Day, which meant one thing and one thing alone to me—the movie "Earth" finally came out.  It's a Disney movie that's basically just a documentary of our planet, but I had been waiting to see it since I first saw the trailer back in November when I saw "Frost/Nixon."  And finally, Earth Day arrived.

My friend Mertyl (not her real name) and I decided to go all out and see "Earth" on its opening day.  Supposedly, Disney is going to plant a tree in our honor for going to see it this week.  Therefore, I've done my human duty in doing something good for our planet on this Earth Day (I also wore my "Tree Huggers Wanted" t-shirt to show my environmental support).

But to be perfectly honest, I really just went to see the movie because it looked like it would be amazing.  And it was.

The documentary (narrated by James Earl Jones—got to love that voice!) follows three different animal families over the course of one year:  one polar bear family, one elephant family, and one whale family.  As we followed their journeys along the way, we also got to see some adorable baby birds learning how to fly, some funny monkeys who did not like the fact that they had to wade through water (seriously, one of the funniest things I've ever seen), a few fancy penguins, lions and leopards leaping, and a bunch of different birds doing some crazy (and sometimes creepy) mating dances.

I gotta say, the monkeys and the whales were my favorite.  The monkeys because they were acting like prissy little things that were literally tiptoeing through the water, and the whales because they helped each other along the whole way ... plus, their vantage point was just gorgeous.

My main takeaway from "Earth," though?  That we live on an absolutely stunning planet in an incredibly rich world.  As I sat there and watched the beautiful scenery and saw the majesty that is life on Earth, I couldn't help but think ... how can people see things like this and not believe in God?

I always come back to this thought whenever I see a particularly beautiful sunset, the power of the ocean waves, or the stunning heights of a mountain range.  But during "Earth?"  It was just right there staring at me for the whole hour-and-a-half.  It was just ... magnificent.  And beyond anything that any "accident" or manmade invention could ever hope to achieve.

Honestly, how can someone see such beauty and not see the hand of God?  How can they see the changing seasons, the animal kingdom, and the aurora lights and not see God?  That's all I can see when I glimpse such earthly wonders and amazing examples of this planet's miracles.

I think C.S. Lewis said it best:  I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen.  Not because I can see it, but because by way of it, I can see everything else.

So go see "Earth."  I think you'll see the face of God while you're there.