Kayaks and blinders

Can anyone else believe that July is almost half over already?! How is this possible? It seems like the Firefighter and I were just planting our vegetable garden- but that was over a month ago, as the weeds keep reminding me.
We really have enjoyed our summer so far though. We’ve been kayaking a few times, thanks to generous family members who have let us borrow their kayaks. Next summer I believe we’ll be buying our own so we can go as often as we’d like. Kayaking is so peaceful, so relaxing, and yet such a good workout. This past weekend we were camping at Littlefield Beaches, and the thing we were most looking forward to was kayaking. We borrowed the Firefighter’s nephew’s kayak, and rented one from the campground, and set out Saturday morning. After paddling for a while, I found this little cove that had a white birch tree hanging out over the edge of the water. It was so beautiful, with the tree casting a long, thin shadow over the calm, clear water. I sat there with my leg and hands dangling in the water, just soaking in the view: mountains surrounding the lake, the beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds, camps dotting the shoreline, and the only thing I could hear was the lapping of the water at the shore and the Firefighter paddling away. It was a perfect morning.
As I sat looking at the mountains, I thought of the often-used phrase, “How can anyone look at (insert natural setting) and not believe there’s a God?” For some reason that I’m trying to explain, that phrase has always made me a bit uncomfortable. If someone sets their mind that they believe there is no God, then no amount of natural surrounding is going to convince them otherwise. Doesn’t that seem right? They’ve set their mind against any proof that could be offered to prove His existence. Why would a pretty mountain sitting beside a lake change their mind?The only thing that would change their mind would be God removing the blinders that they’ve been so firmly holding over their physical and spiritual eyes. He would also have to remove the desire for that person to hang on so tightly to those blinders. Once He has removed those blinders, that person’s eyes and heart would be opened to what is so clear to those of us who have lost our blinders. That one would be able to see with clarity, as much clarity as any Christian can have in this present day, why it is that people say “How can anyone look at that and not believe there is a God?”.