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Finding the Meaning of Our Relationship with God in Nature<\/p>\n
Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson<\/p>\n
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Morning walks with my Newfoundland dogs are an experience of vibrant colors so stark that they stand against one another, sharp delineated lines that can only be found in nature when all is new and full of strength. Against a cloudless cerulean sky, Quandry peak cuts the sky with sharp-edged steel colored rock emerging from vestiges of winter snow and sinking into pine green forests as my eye travels down the mountain\u2019s flank to earth to the dirt road covered in a fine chalky layer of dust begging for rain.<\/p>\n
We celebrated the summer solstice this week but in my neighborhood, the verdant chartreuse of the leaves tells me spring is rushing headlong to catch up with the calendar. Yet, the birds know where they are meant to be on this day. The variety of birdsong filling the morning air is far richer and varied than it was three weeks ago. Instead of one, I hear at least three different songs, along with the saucy buzz of a hummingbird, who firmly believes he\u2019s about his business and I should be about mine.<\/p>\n
Last week, when I had pneumonia, one of the \u2018little books\u2019 I read was \u201cThe Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air\u201d by nineteenth century theologian and philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. He wrote a fifty-one-page treatise on ten verses from the sixth chapter of Matthew, a simple and beautiful parable told by Jesus using common symbols from nature to demonstrate God\u2019s love for us. These verses seem apropos of not only the lushness of late spring that greets me each morning, but also where I am in my walk of faith.<\/p>\n
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26\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Look at the birds! They don\u2019t worry about what to eat\u2014they don\u2019t need to sow or reap or store up food\u2014for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?<\/p>\n 28\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cAnd why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies! They don\u2019t worry about theirs.\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Yet King Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as they.\u00a030\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won\u2019t he more surely care for you, O\u00a0men of little faith?<\/p>\n 31-32\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cSo don\u2019t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them,33\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.<\/p>\n 34\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cSo don\u2019t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time. (Matthew 6: 26-34)<\/p>\n The parables of Jesus are multi-layered with wisdom for us to discover as we spend time and attention in the scripture. Just as we are called to notice the beauty of our surroundings, the parable also asks us to consider how God\u2019s love is expressed very practically in our daily lives.<\/p>\n How do we trust in God\u2019s provision? The scripture responds: \u201c<\/sup><\/strong>So do not worry, saying, \u2018What shall we eat?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we drink?\u2019 or \u2018What shall we wear?\u2019\u2026 your heavenly Father knows that you need them.\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But seek first his kingdom\u00a0and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.\u00a0\u201c<\/p>\n What does it mean to seek first God\u2019s kingdom? Our natural response is to create a list of activities that demonstrate our eagerness to please God. Counterintuitively, Kierkegaard instructs us that first we must stop. Stop striving, become silent. \u00a0We must stop our impetus to take matters into our own hands. Rather, our silence and inaction enable us to turn our complete attention to God, and thereby seek God\u2019s kingdom first.<\/p>\n Only when our hearts and minds quiet enough to hear God\u2019s thoughts, God\u2019s will, God\u2019s perfect desire for our lives is God truly our priority. In our inaction, we \u2018seek first the kingdom of God\u2019 because finally, when we have given up all our own efforts we can see God as first in our lives, not by our own efforts but because we have surrendered all of our striving to God.<\/p>\n When I go out for a morning walk with my dogs and my mind is filled with worry and plans of what I must accomplish today, I miss the colors of nature. I miss the birdsong. And most certainly, I miss the \u2018still, small voice of God\u2019. Only when I quiet my mind can I be present to experience the beauty of my surroundings, to acknowledge that in this moment all is well, and that in the silence, I can experience God\u2019s assurance. To be silent amid worry is the first expression of our trust in God\u2019s goodness.<\/p>\n Over the next three weeks, I look forward to continuing to share what I learn from Kierkegaard\u2019s treatise on this parable of the birds and flowers, how it impacts my life, and what it can teach us about living more fully in God\u2019s presence. I hope you\u2019ll find time this week to go outside and experience the beauty of God\u2019s creation with a silent mind and a heart open to God\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n