Greater.

The Great Wall is awesome. Not in normal, everyday use of the word "awesome" either, but truly awe inspiring.

This was my second trip to the wall, and I still had the same head-shaking astonishments. Step after step I kept trying to fathom the vastness of it all. It's difficult to grasp the feasibility of even one section of the wall, hand-laid into the side of a steep mountain, but to think that it stretches on for almost 5,500 miles...yeah, wow. If you're not impressed, either read more about it here, or just go see it for yourself.

But an interesting thing occurred after we ascended the staircase to the Wall. As our group climbed the last step and gazed out at the winding masterpiece inlayed into the distant mountains, our attention was drawn to a nearby tree. We had just said our "oooh's" and "ahhh's" when a loud bug caught our attention, and we turned around just in time to see a preying mantis stalking the poor crying critter. There we were, having paid 50 RMB (around 8$) to climb a seemingly unending staircase to the Great Wall, mesmerized by nature.

A comment was made about this fact and laughter ensued, but then our friend Jeremy said, "but God's creation is so much more amazing than man's."

I love moments like this, where we step back from what man considers great and look to the One who is in an entirely different category of great. To even say that the Great Wall is great, and He is greater doesn't even seem right. You can't just compare thing like that! So although true, please forgive the title of my post.

Don't get me wrong, the Wall is truly great- the greatest structure I've ever seen on this planet. I left with a renewed sense of admiration for the Chinese and their determination.

I know, I read into everything, but I think I needed to that day. I needed my vision to expand. I thought of the Creator. I thought of the One who put the stars in place. I thought of my Father. How great has He been in my mind lately? How much am I believing Him for? What areas of my life do I see as greater than Him? Do I just put Him in a great-sized box? Is He GREATER to me?

Thank you, China, for showing me how small my wall is.

Greater things are yet to come.