Beauty in Nature

Beauty in Nature

Each day the God of the universe has a splendid plan for us, and each day He opens the show with a different and uniquely beautiful sunrise.  The older I get and the more complex daily life seems to become the more I crave simplicity.  Nowhere is God's simplicity for our lives more evident than in nature.  Last week I wrote of the rejuvenating power of the simple road trip.  Today I follow that with a discussion of the simple things in life. 

Nature all around us provides so much richness that we often overlook.  God paints with a palette of colors that no other artist can match.  He captures our imagination with the magnificent sunrises and sunsets that bookend our days.  He arrays the fields and the forests with a wide range of colors and textures that cannot be adequately captured with the camera or the artist's brush.  The power and gentleness of the oceans, rivers and streams capture our imagination and take us to new places.  Snow-capped mountain peaks remind us of the majesty of God and the often seeming insignificance of our lives in the grand scheme of things.

One doesn't have to leave the confines of their own property to begin observing these things if we will discipline ourselves to see God's beauty in His creation.  

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

2 

Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

3 

There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 19:1-3

We can observe the rising and the setting of the sun, the vastness of a clear starlit night, the precise cycles of the sun and moon, and amid these simple elements God is conveying His message, "I am here seek me."  

Then what do we do?  We fill our lives with extraneous "pleasures" that take our minds and hearts from God and leave us exhausted in the complexities of daily life.  This in turn lends itself to stress which is a silent killer to our health and well-being.  The confusion we face leads to mixed or inappropriate signals being sent to those around us which creates misunderstandings if not outright conflict, which is again a stressor making life more difficult, and suddenly we are in a vicious cycle and unsure of how to extricate ourselves from it.

3 Simple Steps

1) To borrow a sports term here, take a timeout!  When basketball or football games start to get out of hand and the momentum is turning in the opponents favor a wise coach will call for a timeout.  This allows his players to refocus and perhaps a new strategy to be implemented.  Our lives are the same way, we need to recognize the shifts in momentum and take some timeouts to restore our thought processes and regroup to move forward.

2) Look at the simplicity of the created world.  A simple walk through your neighborhood or a local park noticing the things God has created and paying less attention the things man has built.  This type of activity will lower our blood pressure and help us to see through renewed eyes.  It takes away the clutter and helps us to focus on the important.

3) Pray!  As a Christian we have no more powerful, yet simple, tool available to us than prayer.  Pray often and pray with an open mind and heart.  Seek God's wisdom and honor Him in simply seeking His will.

If we are to be fit for the journey a simpler approach to that journey would benefit us all.  May you DO WELL on your journey, and may it take a simpler turn this week.