Natural Dissonance

It is in nature that I feel closest with God. I am in awe of the His glory that is written across this Earth. Waterfalls, caves, forests, streams, oceans, grasslands, deserts, and mountains have an alluring quality that is hard to resist. Nature is wild, untamed, dangerous, and thrilling; while at the same time exuding peace, security, simplicity, and above all wonder. To behold the beauty and majesty of this Earth that God created is such an honor. To believe that he created it for us, is well, overwhelming and humbling.

I am naturally a reflective person, and when my breath is taken away by God's power, beauty and majesty, I can barely express my thoughts or feelings. Every aspect and every facet of the area around me becomes something of interest. Last week at Okoboji I walked outside just as it began to stop raining. The day had not been good for me and I was feeling quite broken and distressed. God however was not cooperating with my emotions. The ground was wet, and the scent of the damp ground hung around me. Rain still sprinkled from the sky and shafts of golden light streamed through the tall gnarled oak trees. Birds were flitting from tree to tree, squirrels scampered across the ground searching for newly fallen acorns, and dragonflies swooped through the open air. As I walked down to the lakes edge, waves lapped gently at the shore. I looked up and my breath was taken away as I beheld a rainbow that arched across the sky, every hue of its bow standing out in stark contrast with the white clouds behind it. A light breeze played through the leaves above my head and the bird sang out to one another. There was a puddle close to my feet; an as droplets of water fell from the heavens, they formed bubbles across its surface; they made faint popping noises as each one floated gently into a pebble causing small ripples on the water. The air sparkled as the sun's light danced through the raindrops, and yet my heart was far from dancing.

Never had I felt so lost, so alone; and yet there I was amidst such beauty. I realized what it meant to yearn for heaven, because I was bearing witness to the dissonance and incompleteness of how things are amidst our sinfulness. It says in Revelations that God will create a new heaven and a new Earth. I like to think that they will be one and the same and the Earth will be restored to its original splendor. Just imagine what Earth was like before we defiled and tore it to pieces. No cares, no worries, just us and God dwelling in the garden once again. Oh how I look forward to that day. I want to walk through the forested glades, skip through the meadows, dance in the rain, sleep under the stars, and soak in the sunlight. Doing so in perfect unity with our God of Love.

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that^[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
 ²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8)

“If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.” --Thoreau

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time” --John Lubbock

Go fish and hunt far and wide day by day, and rest thee by many brooks and hearth-sides without misgiving. Rise free from care before the dawn, and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee every where at home. Grow wild according to thy nature, like sedges and brakes. -Thoreau (Walden)

“May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow. May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart. May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.”
--Irish blessing

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”
--Irish blessing