Nature's Remedy

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1 Peter 4:19

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 

Psalm 19:1

For those of you who are local, though the title of this blog appears to be a shameless plug for a business that I love, owned by a woman that I greatly respect and admire, I can assure you it is not.  This post really is about how restoring and healing I have found nature to be in this season.

The scriptures listed above are two that caught my eye back in April and have had a lasting impression on me ever since.  In reading 1 Peter 4:18, I was kind of shocked that Peter referenced the fact that God is Creator in the verse.  I'm not sure what I expected to see there instead, but I found myself unable to move quickly past that word.  So I started to think about what it meant to entrust my soul to a faithful Creator, and pretty soon just found myself thinking about the beauty and wonder of creation.  

I found myself reading the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, and asking myself a question from a Bible study I did years ago - "What kind of God creates like this?" And I was reminded beautiful characteristics of our Creator, here are just a few: intentional, creative, One who brings order to chaos, intimately involved in the details, the Creator and modeler of rest, all-powerful, all-sustaining, good.

After that I started to admire nature more - it was just raw creation.  Man's hand was absent from making it beautiful. Instead it was God's voice alone that had spoken it into being, and His oversight that had sustained it.  And it helped me to better understand how big my God is.

So, I stared at the Grand Canyon with awe.  I remember feeling a peace because the Creator of this masterpiece was watching over me - and He was watching over Chase.

I went on a prayer walk up and down the beach in Florida and just couldn't take my eyes off the water. I couldn't see where it stopped.  It was breathtaking.  The Creator of this was asking me to entrust myself to Him.

I went on a mini-hike near Branson, MO one morning in October and was just speechless as I witnessed the changing colors of the lake and the sky and the trees as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.  I thanked God that I had the chance to behold such beauty, even on this fallen Earth.  And then I found myself excited, looking forward to the reunion I would have with Chase in the New Heavens and the New Earth. Looking forward to beholding beauty there that far outweighs anything I will ever see here.  I speak of the beauty of The Lord of course, but also of the indescribable beauty of the New Earth - the renewed creation.

The weather has transitioned from the hot Texas summer to an overwhelmingly refreshing fall.  I forgot how beautiful this season is - it's slowly becoming my favorite. And because of that I find myself sitting outside a lot more.  I go for walks as often as I can.  I want to feel the chill in the air.  I want to breathe in crisp air.  I want to behold the changing color of the leaves.  Because when I do, I always feel just a little bit better.  There's something life-giving about the creation.

Maybe because the Creator is the ultimate Life-giver.