Good morning…
“Most days I eat breakfast and/or lunch on my back porch. Our dogs sit at my feet or play in the yard. The big sky opens wide to offer art lessons. Trees and leaves slow-dance with the breeze. Birds and butterflies, squirrels and chipmunks, all God’s creatures frolic in freedom. Fresh air fills my lungs and rejuvenates my skin as I feel the day’s change of temperature.
Three minutes. Five. Maybe ten. No agenda but to be and to feel, to see and to sense, quieting long enough to breathe in God’s promise, ‘I am making everything new!’ (Revelation 21:5, NIV).”
I typed those words into my computer yesterday. Then today, I read a post-election blog written my Spiritual Direction supervisor, Tara Owens, who lives in Colorado. Tara suggests various types of soul care as we ground ourselves in God during this tumultuous time. Her first words of encouragement are “Get Outside.”
She writes, “We have, in general, indoor minds. We live inside of boxes, eat inside of boxes, and find our entertainment inside of boxes. Much of this past year was dominated by screens. Getting outside in God’s creation not only reminds us of cycles and seasons, but it removes the walls and ceilings around our souls, leading to a more expansive experience of the world, our God, and the Good News. It helps us gain God’s perspective and bring rest.
Getting outside brings our noisy, busy selves to a place of silence. Spend time in that silence and see how nature continues to sing to God. If you can, leave your technology and social media behind. Having an unmediated experience of the book of creation brings us back to God’s heart. It helps us to develop outdoor minds.”
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19:1-4a, NIV).
Day after day, night after night, how well are we developing our outdoor minds?
…Sue…
