“Nature is impersonal, awe-inspiring, elegant, eternal. It’s geometrically perfect. It’s tiny and gigantic. You can travel far to be in a beautiful natural setting, or you can observe it in your backyard.” ~ Gretchen Rubin
I have been going through a lot lately. No sob stories here and no details . . . just a lot of stuff happening. When that happens to me, I tend to get overwhelmed, extremely overwhelmed, and begin to feel myself shutting down. I was to that point yesterday afternoon. Around 4:00 p.m., I left the office to clear my head. I had an appointment coming in at 6:00 p.m. and wanted to be on point for it.
So, now that the weather is nice, I went where I often do when I need to focus and shake off some of the nervous jitters. I went to my deck overlooking the backyard. Well, first, I got in the backyard and scrubbed out the bird bath. It was still in its “winter grunge” phase. Then, I watered the plants and flowers. Then, I examined the flowers, one at a time, looking at their intricate beauty. They never cease to amaze me.
As I did all of that, I could feel a calm come over me because I was able to put things in perspective. My perspective? I’m not the one that matters. It’s not all up to me. I’m just one person in a complex milieu and each of us have a part to play. As all of that came to my mind, I could feel something else: the presence of God.
Yes. He never does leave us alone. He does not make us do everything by ourselves. He is always there to help us. That is, if we are willing to invite Him in. That’s the part I am often not very good at. I often think that I have to be the one to take care of everything instead of relying upon God.
God is so good. And you can find that out simply by going to your backyard. Or the bike trail. Or the neighborhood sidewalks. Or the park. Or anywhere out in nature where you have a chance to put things in perspective. When we are inside, our perspective is very small. It’s just us and our rooms. When we are outside, the world is so huge and it speaks to us.
Birds chirping and flapping around. Bees looking for places to build and flowers to pollinate. Breezes rustling leaves in trees and bushes. The sound of children playing. Squirrels chattering away as they look for food and alternately fight and play with one another. Hey, if there is no God in charge of all of that, what is there?
God is never far away. We merely need to open our eyes and our hearts to His reality all around us.
FAITH ACTION: Take some time today, if the weather is nice, to go outside, look at the flowers, trees, grass, and clouds, and reflect upon the majesty and splendor of the God who surrounds us with constant reminders of Him.