“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Natures peace will flow into you as a sunshine flows into trees. The wind will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” -John Muir
It’s 7 am and sunshine is pooling into my bedroom window. Birds are chirping in unison as they perch in the locust trees and the sky is a friendly sapphire blue.
I am excited for today.
Here in North Idaho, Summer is quite arguably the most beautiful time of year. But it’s also the shortest. The best days for camping and kayaking and swimming and boating is limited to a few short months.
But they are glorious months. And they are so necessary for the body and soul.
I don’t know about you, but there’s something about going outside that brings me so much peace. Whether its going on a hike, or swimming in the lake, or riding my bike through town, or walking along the river, there is a sense of wholeness and relief that comes over me when I walk away from all the distractions of life and spend some time in nature.
You know what distractions I’m talking about. The computers and cellphones and deadlines and schedules and bills and budgets and politics and news… the inside world can be suffocating.
But in the mountains, beside the water, while working in the dirt or walking in the sunshine, I feel as though I have room to breathe, and think, and be.
In Romans 1:20, Paul says that Gods attributes can be clearly seen in nature. I couldn’t agree more. I see his provision in the wheat fields and the apple trees. I see his beauty in the sunsets, his vastness in the mountain terrain, his power in the oceans roar, his gentleness in the wildflowers, his faithfulness in the sunrise, and his resurrecting mercy every Spring.
I love Gods creation.
No, I’m not a nature-worshipping hippie, but I do love nature.
I love the little forest mushrooms, and the daisies in the fields. I stand in awe at the majesty of an elk standing proudly in a woodland meadow, or an osprey swooping down over a lake. I love the challenge of climbing a mountain, and the joy and victory I feel when I reach the top. I could sit for hours before the ocean and never tire of listening to her waves. I love how each new sunset takes my breath away, because no two sunsets are the same. I love burying my feet in the warm summer sand, and plunging into the cool waters of a lake to wash them off. I love trees and ferns and tulip fields and raspberry bushes.
God created mankind in a garden and gave us the responsibility of tending its grounds. We were made to be in nature, experience its beauty, and see God in it.
As Job 12:7-10 says,
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”
You can’t “speak to the earth” if you’re not in it.
You won’t learn from the birds in the sky if there’s a roof over your head blocking your view.
It’s so important, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually to experience nature. Gods created beauty has so much to tell us about him, if we just get out and listen.
So this weekend I’m challenging you to put away your phone and shut off your computer. I know that each of us have projects and deadlines and responsibilities and housework inside, but you know as well as I do that they’ll all be right there when you come back.
Listen to the sound of the wind in the trees. Share a cup of coffee with someone over a campfire. Swim. Hike. Experience God in the throne room of his creation.
Get out.
I for one, am realizing just how quickly Summer is passing by and I don’t want to waste a minute!
(All the pictures included in this post were taken on a hike I went on to Harrison Lake in the Kaniksu National Forest! Super easy and fun-would highly recommend!)
