Noticing God in Nature

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I’m sitting at a highway rest area not far from where I grew, up looking at a wall of green trees that remind me of playing in the woods as a little boy around our house in East Texas. I used to run and play, and let my imagination run and play as well. 

    Later, when I went to church camp, I heard the description of what I had experienced: ”Connecting with God in nature.” As I grew up and learned to navigate the world as an adult, having my first job within the church, I would still return again and again to be with God in nature especially at decision points in my journey. I would go into wilderness places and pray. 

    As I grew older, found new ways to play through canoeing, mountain biking, hiking longer trails, or camping out. All of them putting me in close contact with God‘s beautiful, good creation.  

    When I was learning to meditate my favorite place to practice would be outside near a stream where I would first read scripture or write in my journal, then listen for God‘s nonverbal reassurance. Though not all traditions remember that God created all things good and that the universe is God’s expression, there are many voices throughout the generations that have articulated this reality of God‘s eminence. Those writers (theologians, preachers, poets) have also helped me to notice how often in scripture God’s people have discovered and rediscovered the same thing: that God is not far away, but right here as close as our very breath. With this attitude, one creature may recognize kinship with the rest of creation. We might witness trees with arms aloft praising God, watch the sunrise aware of that daily miracle. Knowing God’s loving presence in creation may also  help us recognize fellow humans as Christ’s presence among us. What a blessing it is to be part of this very moment of existence in God’s cosmos. I’m glad I turned aside for a break, now to get back on the road.


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