Serenity

I guess everyone has their “Happy Place”. Some folks enjoy visiting the city immersing themselves into all the culture, entertainment, and nightlife which that environment has to offer. Others prefer someplace a little less boisterous like a nice quiet restaurant or a relaxing movie theater. Still some prefer to detach from it all and get as far away from civilization as possible in nature. I am one of the latter souls that finds tranquility in sunsets, sunrises, streams, and solitude. Nothing against those that enjoy a night on the town or a trip for dinner and a movie – that’s just not my thing. For some, just the thought of being farther than a rock’s throw from concrete or asphalt is terrifying. For me, the thought of anything more than a pass through the concrete jungle ranks right up there with root canals and blood work as my least favorite things to do.  Below, I offer a handful of reasons why the route of nature is the one I take when I need to get away from it all.

• Anytime I am able to stop and listen and hear nothing more than the wind blowing and the birds chirping, it reminds me that there is much more to this world and life than I can see when I am neck-deep in the affairs of this congested pace of life that most of us lead. My mind can clear. My heart can be refreshed. I understand what the Psalmist meant when he wrote, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” Psalm 62:5
• Sometimes on a mountain hike or a canoe trip down the river, I’ll take a break and just listen to the sound of the running water of the stream. In these moments I am reminded that I have a loving savior that “…leads me beside the still waters…restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3 and I remember that He has planted a longing for Him in my heart similar to that described in Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” 
• When I’m on the lake early enough to see the sun awaken the morning or retire to its bed at night, I am reminded that while I am finite in being, the Living God of the Bible is infinite. As the Apostle Peter points out in 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” He took care of me yesterday, and no matter what tomorrow throws my way, He’s already there!
• When I’m at my hunting lease in the hills of Southern Missouri, my time in the deer stand doubles as time spent in the presence of God. I look at it as a way to do as Jesus did: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35. In these times I am able to do as the Psalmist did and remember that no matter what the pressures of life are, I can “lift up my eyes to the hills” and be reminded that  “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2.

On and on we could go, but I will spare you. If the city life works for you as a way to escape and reconnect with God, go for it. If grabbing a bite to eat and losing yourself in a movie is more your style, then more power to you! As for me, I’ll take a creek bank, an open lake, a mountain trail, a deer stand, or any number of nature scenes as my getaway from the hustle and bustle. So if you’re like me in your way of reconnecting with the Creator, whether stream-side or mountainside, I’ll see you in the Great Outdoors!