Tuesday 9/8/20 6:29 AM
On my walk the last two mornings I’ve been singing the song This Is My Father’s World. It begins by reminding me that if I have listening ears, all nature sings; rocks, trees, skies, seas, caroling birds, morning light, white lilies, and rustling grass. I will say that God has communicated with me through various means, including all of nature throughout my life.
In my devotional reading this morning Norman Shawchuck describes how God speaks to him through nature. He writes, “Autumn is making its way across the prairie, and with it God's silent and unseen artists turned the entire landscape into a magnificent work of art. The colors of the trees, the touches added by the farmers – green and golden fields, hay bales put in just the right places. Cattle – red, brown, black, white; the little wild turkeys and their ever-watchful mothers just outside my window; indeed, never has there been an artist like God. Thank you Creator God for the artistic changes of the seasons, for the beauty of your fascinating and ever changing creation! Come dear autumn, bathe our senses with your beauty and lay living nature gently to sleep in the arms of winter. There all may rest to be restored in the blazing beauty of spring!”
In his book Spiritual Life in the Congregation, Reuben Job writes, “Learning to listen for the voice of God in all of life is a discipline infrequently employed. And learning to discriminate among all the voices clamoring for our attention is it forgotten gift. Consequently, the rich spiritual gifts that God is eager to give often go unrecognized and unclaimed.” It is certainly true that there are many voices clamoring for our attention, especially in the current election season and on social media. I need to remember to continue to be quiet and listen for God’s voice amid all the hoopla.
