The Porch of His Presence

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BLACKBOARDS AND BLESSINGS

The Parable of the Glass Worlds

There once was a teacher who built a circle of ten small worlds.
Each one was filled with clear water, live plants, stones, and gentle fish.
He did not speak of oceans or forests or great deserts—
Instead, he invited his students to lean close and look into the glass.
And what they saw amazed them.

They saw that when the water warmed, the plants grew.
That too much light could cloud the balance.
That fish and plants lived in a quiet dependence,
breathing in what the other released.
They learned that peace was not the absence of movement,
but the harmony of many movements in concert.

Some students called it the “fish class,”
but what they were really learning was stewardship.
They learned that ecosystems are not only in rainforests or coral reefs,
but in their own hands,
and that small worlds can teach great truths.

Years passed. The teacher moved on. The glass tanks were emptied.
But some of the students—grown now—kept aquariums of their own.
Not for the grade, not for the science, but for the stillness.
Because something had stayed with them—
A quiet remembrance
that creation is not only vast, but delicate.
And that to watch over something living is to be near the heart of the Maker.