The owl's piercing and terrifying cry seemed to be right outside the window. I went outside the back door of the house, into the early dawn, and there it was! The owl was perched only about 100 feet above the ground, on a branch of a tree only about 150 feet from the house.

What a scene. The gray sky. The leafless tree. Several times, as I watched, the owl cried out. An owl is a gigantic bird, and a fearsome predator! After a few minutes, how awesome that huge wingspan, as the owl glided to another location.

Many people find that nature reveals God's presence to them, and I think that's true too. The problem is that many think of nature in romantic terms: the blooming flowers, the frolicking deer, the playful squirrels. Does that domesticate and romanticize one's understanding of God?

Perhaps the owl can remind us that, in the mystery of who God is, there is a fearsomeness and a wildness.