Finding God in Nature

Last night on the phone with my grandmother, she said, "Well, sweetie, it seems like we'll be looking at the sunset while you're looking at snow."

It's easy for me to sense the immediacy of God's presence while watching a blaze of colors dip into the sky along the sandy beaches of Hawaii. It's like meeting our Creator face to face, watching His manifestations in our surroundings...and no one has to explain it to me.

Psalm 19 says:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

A friend struggling with speaking to the Lord in prayer asked me for help. I suggested she take a long walk by the Riverfront (of course it's nicer when it's not frozen over!), take a hike in the woods at Detweiller Park, or stroll the Forest Park Nature Center...and talk to God along the way. Whenever I've been stuck, nature has never failed to facilitate a discussion between me and the Lord. Clarity of thought occurs when I'm first in awe over what the Lord can create and I cannot...and in reverance I can best go before Him in prayer.