" Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." ~OshoThe other evening, during my favorite time of day, I found these lovely wildflowers sprouting up on the grassy strand in front of our yard. It made me happy. As a golden glow was cast on our lawn, I watched my husband contentedly care for our small piece of land. It's not much, but it's ours. It's our one piece of nature to care for and maintain. There is something fulfilling about that...
Lately, all of this creation sprouting around me has whispered one thing: be faithful. I know "faithful" is what I want to be in my marriage or in my friendships, but what does it mean as an overwhelming purpose? "Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
Here we go again with nature being the perfect parallel to life.
What I'm learning is that faithfulness is simply about being who I was created to be. A tree does not wake up with a to-do list. It is simply a tree, and that is its job...every day. It is deeply rooted in the soil, straight down to the nutrient it needs to survive. It is just faithful being a tree, flowering in season and existing for the reason it was created. It does not worry what each day will bring or whether it will be ready when a wintry season comes to strip its bark and its leaves. It is ready.
What if....I just concentrated today on being a women of God and nothing else? Would everything else not fall into place? Will I not see that there truly is "a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"? (Ecclesiastes 3)
To this day, I've never heard someone say they were more stressed after spending time in nature. This is why people seek out retreats in the mountains, build dream homes by the sea, and nurture flower gardens on urban patios. There is something beautifully calming about standing in a forest, gazing up at redwoods with tops too high to see. Trees are simply doing what they are supposed to do - GROW. No...I don't know a single person who isn't quieted by standing among a forest of trees. And I think it will always be that way, because nature was created to quiet our soul, to show us our purpose, and to show us God.
"I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy."
~Hamlin Garland, McClure's, February 1899
~Hamlin Garland, McClure's, February 1899
Today, I will simply concentrate on being a faithful tree. And I will rest in knowing that my roots are reaching down just a little bit closer to their source of Life.
