The heavens are telling the glory of God (Ps 19.1)....but what if we can't see them?
Spending time in nature grounds me. Witnessing the grandeur of the cosmos gives me perspective. Recognizing the beauty of creation gives me hope.
A nurse I know who takes care of people as they near the end of their lives, always asks her patients whether or not they gardened. An odd question, but after years of collecting peoples answers, she has noticed a definitive difference between both the physical presentation, and the emotional attitude of people in relation to their answer.
Those who did garden, complained less, were generally healthier, and seemed to have a perspective that the world did not revolve around them. Those who didn't garden were often grumpy, sickly, and appeared years older than they actually were.
We were created to spend time in creation (Gen 1.28), gaining perspective and tapping into the life giving harmony that comes from acknowledging that we are not the center of the universe.
5 comments:
I blame car dealerships. Not really, but at the same time, well kinda. Bend is really good (relatively) about having low light levels, though two nights a week I work outside of the suburbs and when I am driving back into town at 11pm there is this orange glow due to exclusively a set of car dealerships.
Brandon I am a lot like you in that I need to be outside to feel connected. I could never live in a big city. Now that I have a child it's harder, and I need to make more conscious efforts to get to the woods (Phil's trail is 2 miles from our home, so my excuses suck).
The irony is I think I experience God more in nature, but I pry pray more in the big city :)
Brandon, I liked the story about your nurse friend and her observations about gardeners verses non-gardeners. My father is 91 yrs old and has been an avid gardener. In 2005, he had surgery to remove a blood clot from his leg, and he did not recover well. He is a very strong personality, and I would have thought that the loss of his independence would have made him a wretched, grumpy old man. He is not. He has accepted his new situation with grace, never complains, and appreciates the care giving that my mother (now 89 yrs old) gives him 24/7. I am amazed. He is still as active as his physical limitations will allow.
As for myself, I live in a place where I can step outside my porch and see the stars on any clear night. I hate the city. I think you feel more connected to God in nature because there is a "clear line of sight", while in the city you pray more because you need to work more to clear out the clutter of the world to find Him.
Connection with the outdoors is a connection with the energy from living things. Humans send and receive energy from living things they interact with. This is why gardeners live a happier life and plants are often livelier in a happy home. The only energy you receive from tv/computer screens, car dealership lights etc. are negative light not spiritual energy you get from nature. Food for thought, no pun
Very interesting D and M! Thanks for your comments.
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