As I set the dish washing soap down on the counter, a small cluster of bubbles burst from the open top. Playfully they danced upward in front of the window. And I didn’t just smile; I giggled.
Memories associated with bubbles floated through my mind as I watched those drifting bubbles—memories of our children, and now our granddaughter–gleefully capturing bubbles that family members provided for their popping pleasure. As they grew older, the children took on the challenge of slow and steady blowing, to make the biggest bubbles possible.
But it’s just a pocket of air surrounded by a film of soap. Why is it that a bubble grabs our attention?
First, no one can refute their beauty:
- Bubbles reflect light and sparkle with iridescence.
- Bubbles refract light into brilliant pastel hues. Ever-changing ribbons of color pirouette over the surface in rainbow swirls.
- Bubbles gracefully glide across space, undulating on the air currents.
Each of these aspects can also draw attention to another form of beauty: the beauty of the Lord.
(“One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek: …
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.”
–Psalm 27:4)
But what does the beauty of bubbles (of all things) have to do with God?
Bubbles remind me that:
1) God is light (1 John 1:5). Ezekiel saw him “as if full of fire…Brilliant light surrounds him” (Ezekiel 1:27). “The Lord is my light” is also a symbolic statement, referring to his truth and goodness.
2) The refraction of light into glorious colors is reminiscent of the first rainbow (Genesis 9:15-17). God told Noah that never again would he send a flood to destroy all life on earth. The rainbow was a sign of this promise. To this day, a rainbow—even a rainbow on a bubble—is a reminder that God keeps his promises.
3) The grace with which bubbles move brings to mind the grace of God. He, too, moves in gentle ways within our spirits, like a loving shepherd tenderly gathering the lambs to his heart (Isaiah 40:11).
Perhaps God’s whole intention for creating bubbles (and many other phenomenon in nature) was to grab our attention and turn our thoughts to him.
So the next time bubbles escape from the bottle of the dish soap, you may wish to send up a prayer of praise, as they merrily bob through the air:
You are resplendent with light, O God (Psalm 76:4)!
You are faithful to all your promises (Psalm 145:13c)!
You are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6)!
But why wait for serendipity bubbles? Take some of that dish soap and create your own!
Revel in the sparkling light, the whirling rainbows, the graceful dance…
…and worship!
(photo credits: www.flickr.com; http://www.pixabay.com; www.dailyverses.net; wikimedia.com; http://www.pixabay.com.)
From the Inside Out 