As I write this, my only light is a citronella candle, and the stars that linger in the summer sky above the western hills.  The sound of crickets and frogs wafts through our campground, along with the laughter of other campers.  As I have set up camp, made shelter, and swam in the swimming holes of the nearby river, I can’t help but recall this feeling that I’ve felt many times when deep in the wilderness.  The question that comes to mind is ‘what if this is what it’s really suppose to be like?’

When we go out into the wild it brings to life something inside us that is suppressed deep in our hearts…the brutal, raw landscape absent of luxurious amenities and concrete seas brings out a need for survival…a need for basic things like fire and water and food to get us through the night.  It also strips us of our reliance on the technology of our cell phones and computers, and tunes us into the surrounding wild.  The forest comes alive as the different bugs and animals come out in the differing times of day.  The stars at night command an awe that little else can match.  I cannot help but feel that God can commune and speak to us in a more pure, effective way while we are in the wild.  His creation screams at us as it surrounds and envelopes us.  The raw beauty that presents itself cuts deep to the core of our hearts, and in a primitive and strange way, it feels as if this is how it was always meant to be.

As we live in the most beautiful of places, we have every opportunity to immerse ourselves in nature daily.  Let us seek out God’s raw beauty and grace in our daily lives, and let us remember the simplicity and clarity that nature can show us.

Jonathan