Okay, so just so you know, I am not really an outdoorsy person. I’ll admit it. If I had a choice, I’d pick a bed in a hotel over a sleeping bag in a tent every single time. Now, I know some of you are right there with me, but I know there are others out there who LOVE camping and the outdoors and everything associated with it.
However, even though the gnats are infuriating right now and the mosquitoes love to create huge, red, itchy bumps all over my body, I still enjoy being a part of the beauty of God’s amazing creation!
Now, growing up, my family didn’t go camping. We did have some land up by Devil’s Tower near Hulett, Wyoming, but we had a trailer house with beds and electricity. We did not have running water, however. So, we had an outhouse, and my parents actually purchased a portable toilet, so I didn’t have to use the outhouse in the middle of the night! I was the baby of the family, so I was spoiled rotten! My sister, on the other hand, loves to camp! She seems very comfortable in the outdoors, and boy, does she know how to cook on a campfire! It’s impressive!
All of this being said, I do appreciate the beauty of nature. In the summer, I like to take a walk or a bike ride every day, and my husband challenges me to longer bike rides when he and I ride together. Just a few days ago, we were in Yankton, SD, and we took a bike ride near the Missouri River and Lake Yankton, and it was amazing! The cottonwood trees towered above us, and the variety of birds singing and flying by us was phenomenal! The feel of the wind blowing gently and the sound of the fish jumping in the water put a smile on my face. I really felt grounded and stress-free in that moment!
While in Yankton, my son, my husband, and I sat outside and enjoyed a fire in the fire pit. The stars in the sky were incredibly bright, and again, the stress and pressures of life just seemed to melt away. I was really in the moment.
Psalm 96:11-12 says, “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.” It’s pretty cool to think about nature celebrating God just as we do! Look at the words used in those two verses: “rejoice,” “glad,” “jubilant,” and “joy.” Just reading those verses makes me joyful! Psalm 104 is another amazing celebration of God’s creation–it mentions the sun, the moon, the mountains, the waters, the birds, many of the animals, and a lot of the other parts of God’s creation here on Earth. If you have a few minutes, take the time and read Psalm 104.
I am going to challenge myself to get outside even more, to smell the lilacs, to listen to the crickets, to see the sunsets and the sunrises, and maybe even the Northern Lights if I’m lucky!
Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your creation that is all around us!
Thanks for reading, friends!
Love,
Julie
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