Falling in Love with Nature
“Earth has no sorrow that Earth cannot heal…
John Muir
Deep within us is a primal love of the earth.”
A love for nature and the Earth can’t be forced or induced by fear. You can’t be scared into loving something or someone. As John Muir believed, a love of nature must be re-awakened! God planted this love of nature seed in our hearts from birth, and it just needs the right mix of opportunity and nurturing to awaken and flourish. What if this awakened love is a part of the future evolvement of both mankind and the Earth?
I have been thinking about the Earth’s role in the Millennial rein of Jesus Christ. We’re taught that the Earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. During this thousand-year period, the Earth will be able to rest – not only from what has been done to it, but also recover from the acts that man has performed upon it.
I have noticed that as the world slowed down with the pandemic, it drove many to growing their own gardens. People began looking to nature’s medicinal herbs and plants for solutions as the government-led medical community narrowed the options available. People are planting their own elderberries and other medicinal plants. The freedom-loving segment of society is starting to remember the Earth. I believe the love of nature is re-awakening for many. Not because we believe the Green New Dealers who claim we have 12 more years to live, but because we’re finally seeing that nature has our answers! We’re starting to fall in love with the Earth again.
Fear never solves anything. Only LOVE can!
“Earth has no sorrow that Earth cannot heal!” – John Muir
Is recent stirrings of connection with the earth a part of preparing the earth for Christ’s Millennial rein? Is the day coming when the lamb shall lie down with the lion and the child will play on a snake’s nest because we are shifting how we love and adore the Earth and all of God’s creations? Certainly, everyone isn’t shifting, but for any major societal shift to occur, you only need about 3% of the population involved.
Dave and I were listening to the John Muir section of “Sacred Earth. Sacred Soul” today while we were in our backyard, preparing a new garden bed to grow herbs and vegetables. The last five minutes of the chapter, we sat down on some chairs in the woods to listen.
Upon finishing the chapter, we took time to meditate and contemplate silently upon what we had just heard.
Christ Rejoices When We Love His Creations
As I sat there next to my husband, I felt as if Jesus were standing with His hand on my right shoulder and saying, “Thank you for noticing and appreciating My creations. I love the wonder with which you are starting to view nature!”
I think of how excited I am to share something I’ve created with Dave and to have someone else appreciate and rejoice in my creations. How sad Christ must be that most of the world is oblivious to so many of His creative wonders because our noses are in phones, video games, and other technology! Think of how happy He must feel when we notice and are grateful for the beauty and wonder He has provided all around us!
Involve Nature in Your Creativity
Children and teens spend countless hours expressing their creativity on Minecraft or farm games. None of that can compare with creating in the real world! You till the soil with your hands, stick a tiny seed in the dirt, and then wait, wait, wait. It’s always a celebratory wonder when the first fruits come from that tiny seed! There is so much wisdom, understanding, and character that develops as we work with and alongside nature. None of that happens with technological simulations.
I am always amazed at the miracle of a seed that bares fruit! There are so many things that could go wrong and yet… there it is … a tomato, a pea pod, a strawberry! Nothing tastes better or connects you with the Earth more than something you grew yourself!
I think of how much time I’ve spent creating in a technological world, my eyes glued to a monitor. How many hours have I wasted looking at social media, engaging in silly conversations, or listening to the cacophony of voices and tumult of opinions online?
There is more wisdom in the single call of a crow than in most of what we hear online!
Where is abiding peace to be found online – the kind that quiets your mind and heals your soul? I feel an immense peace and wholeness sitting in my front yard, listening, and looking for birds or in my backyard digging the soil. I would compare my time in nature to the peace and quiet I experience in a celestial room of a temple, except I’m always aware that I have a limited time in that space. I can’t stay there for hours on end. There is no need to move along in nature! Step outside and you’re on holy ground!
You Make Time For What You Love
This is a poem I wrote this afternoon while sitting in our front yard:
My house is messy.
I need to clean.
To vacuum, dust, this cluttered scene.
But the sun is shining.
There’s warmth supreme.
The birds sing for me to redeem my time.
They remind me to hear God’s words sublime
Through this season of worshipful prayer –
Not by kneeling, words, or folded hands –
But by quiet meditation on the land.
The breeze is God’s caress upon my cheek,
The sun gives me all the warmth I seek.
I’m reminded of His Providence
With the dried leaves that crunch,
Growing caterpillars that baby birds will munch.
The birds carry His song into my heart.
Their bright colors bring tears that start.
For if one sparrow cannot fall
Without the notice of His watchful eye,
Then He sees my needs and will provide.
His sacred light streams through Mother Nature.
She fills me up and makes me whole.
His peace He pours into my soul –
A peace that heals and brings new birth –
A love of nature and the Earth.
What might the world look like as two groups of people immerge – those who let technology rewrite nature and those who honor Mother Earth, the sacred in everything, and prepare for our Heavenly King? Find out in my dystopian / millennium novel Z, available for free on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback.
