As we prepare ourselves for the season of Lent, I’m spending time in prayer asking God to nudge my conscience towards the ways I sin and live in disconnection. I remember the words, “Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20) and know that through my stubborn self-will, I choose to turn away and do things MY way.
Last weekend was a full moon and before bed, I stepped outside which revealed the expansive and brilliant stars. They felt like a weightless blanket covering me. The air was so pure, the trees so tall. Nature was caring for my soul in a way only God’s creation could.
John Muir, Father of the National Parks, once said, “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” God called Adam to cultivate and care for nature, knowing his soul would be cultivated through his actions. Nature has a way of filling us with wonder, awe and beauty, things of God. It turns us away from ourselves and our egos and connects us to something much larger than ourselves.
Pope Francis wrote in Laudato Si, “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things” (Paragraph 233).
Thank you, God, for drawing me back to You, reminding me that you are in all things and everywhere.
Smitten With Goodness 