Pastor Melinda Giese, Summit UMC
Over the past weeks, I’ve heard congregation members express gratitude for aspects of daily life that have given them joy, even while dealing with the disruption and grief brought on by COVID. Picking the first peas of the season from the garden. Taking a daily walk. Planting geraniums in pots. Playing card games. Spending extra time with pets. Enjoying fresh Puyallup strawberries. Getting outside in the sun. Watching the birds.
As people have shared these simple joys, I’ve noticed how often they involve nature in some way. I find the same is true in my own life –getting outside for a walk is good for my physical and spiritual health. Now that I both work and live at home, going for a walk gives me a mental break from the “office,” which also happens to be my kitchen. Getting outside and looking up into the high canopy of the trees or down at the slugs and snails also gives me a sense of connection to God’s larger, ongoing story.
As Christians, we refer to both the Bible and Jesus as the Word of God. At the same time, we recognize that God has also spoken in creation. In Genesis 1:1-27, God speaks, and light and life come into being. God’s creative and creating word brings forth stars, the moon and sun, plants, vegetation and trees, birds that fly above the earth, creeping things, wild animals, as well as humans. Even before the Bible existed, God had already spoken.
St. Augustine says it well, “Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead God set before your eyes the things that God had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? Why, heaven and earth shout to you: ‘God made me!’” (St Augustine, De Civitatis Dei, Book XVI)
This book of creation requires study and interpretation, just like the Bible. We wonder at the size and immensity of our universe and the mysteries of black holes and dark matter. We research the behaviors of microscopic bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19. We ask questions about how humans are impacting our environment, and how to best care for this beautiful planet filled with such incredible diversity of life.
In these stressful times, nature also gives us another way to connect with God’s presence all around us. Whether we’re looking down at seeds in the garden or looking up at Mt. Rainier on a clear day, these are also words of God inviting us into relationship. It’s worth paying attention to how God speaks to us within these activities, just as you would listen for how God speaks to you through prayer and scripture. If your roses bring you joy or your walk gives you a sense of peace, don’t hesitate to offer a quick prayer of gratitude for these blessings.
God’s word is endlessly creative – reaching out to us again and again through nature, scripture, and the person of Jesus. For all the ways that God continues to speak into our world and our lives in ways that bring peace and joy, we give thanks.