How often do you find silence in your life? About a month ago, Matt and I went on a quick weekend trip out to a national park. While we didn’t stay overnight in the park, every day we were doing a scenic drive, going on short hikes, and really enjoying our weekend outside. We saw lots of cool animals, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bison, pronghorn, prairie dogs, what we’re pretty sure was a muskrat (although it went too fast for me to take a picture), and tons of birds. I’d taken my camera along (not my phone camera), and I was determined to take as many photos as I could and really enjoy my time. And I did! So much so, that I exceeded the storage on the camera (which Matt fixed for me when we got home, now I think 64 GB should be enough!).

One spot we hiked a bit further than we usually do, prompted by the question of: how much closer do you think we can get? We found ourselves on a rock outcropping, overlooking a valley in the mountain range (which is where the picture for this post was taken). We couldn’t hear cars that were driving the scenic highway. We heard birds, the wind whistling through the trees, the scurrying of a chipmunk (which I did manage to get a good picture of) and the occasional click of my camera. We sat there for quite a while, talking about the view and how peaceful it was. No cars, no music, no sound to disrupt it, other than the sound of birds and pine needles rubbing against each other in the wind.

Now, I’m not saying you have to sit in a room full of nothing, but how often do you get to just sit and enjoy the silence? At work I am constantly listening to something, whether it’s my annoying coworker talking about her life (like I really care) or a podcast that I’m listening to trying to drown out that coworker’s constant chatter. I come home, we watch some TV, and then we end up going to bed to do it all over again the next day. On this trip we took, I found that I desperately need some time to just sit in silence. No music, no “outside” noise – but just be able to sit outside and enjoy God’s creation.

We can often get bogged down by the news and negatives of the world. You can easily send yourself down a rabbit hole of how the world is falling apart (which is why my life drastically improved when I stopped paying attention to the news. Now anything that’s important I find out about from conversations). I find when I can sit outside, hear the birds sing and chirp, hear the leaves rustling in the wind, hear the hopping of a squirrel from tree to tree, my problems and worries don’t seem nearly as big anymore. Now, where I live it’s hard to escape the road noise, but if you sit outside early in the morning, you can avoid most of it, and just enjoy being in God’s creation. I think when we do this, we can realize how small we really are in the world, how everything around us was made by God, and that we’ll be just fine if we keep trusting His plan and following His direction.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:6-7, King James Version

It was such a nice weekend, I did minimal work on my laptop, only used my phone to navigate (and send a couple picture). I was really able to fully be present, setting up shots with my camera, not worried about who was texting me or not, and I even ignored a couple of calls. When’s the last time you were able to sit and enjoy God’s creation, taking a moment to just enjoy being able to experience it?

Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites me to use. We are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that splendour which she fitfully reflects.

– C.S. Lewis

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