“Life is like March weather, savage and serene in one hour.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This past year has certainly been a contrast of the savage and serene shifting as quickly as weather changing. When my place of employment shut down to the public one year ago as a result of the coronavirus, tensions in the office quickly amped up as a result of new fears, uncertainty, etc. School suspensions added to the strain. To relieve the stress each day, I began to take a 10-minute break to step outside. Despite continuing to work in an environment surrounded by concrete in the midst of a busy downtown, and living in a house tightly squeezed between other houses on small lots, with each visit outside I was able to find some serenity in nature.

One day, finding a nearby waterway that flows through town, I paused on a bridge to look out over the water. I was startled, then soothed, when a blue heron lifted into the air from beneath me before serenely gliding away. Other times I was delighted by a bunny hiding in the shade, a hawk monitoring the road atop a pole, a row of ducks gliding downstream, turtles sunning on a log, minnows clustered in a creek, a dove nest full of eggs, a hovering dragonfly, buzzing bees, budding trees, or blooming flowers.

A year later, this is a practice I continue each day. Sometimes, I take a longer respite to a nearby lake to watch a sunset, listen to lapping waves, feel the wind in my hair, or the sun on my face. These interludes help put the serene back into me where the savage has taken it out.

The truth is that stress costs each of us something. Physically, emotionally, or spiritually, we will be required to pay the toll. Stress drains, depletes, and even has the ability to destroy.

Yet, replenishment is possible. Jesus himself emulates being replenished with periods of respite in nature. In Matt. 13:1, we see him taking time to sit beside a lake. Often, Scripture tells us that he sought solitude outdoors by withdrawing into the wilderness (Luke 5:16), on a mountainside (Matt. 14:23), and in an olive grove (Matt. 26:36). Jesus used these moments for the purpose of speaking to God in prayer.

Alternatively, nature communicates to us about God. Ps. 19:1-2 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”. We are reminded in Matt. 6:25-30 not to worry because we have a God who will surely provide for our needs as he cares enough to provide for both the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. Don’t forget that every glimpse of a rainbow is a declaration and reminder of the covenant God made with humankind as well (Gen. 9:16).

Each time I seek distraction outside, whether during sunshine, rain, snow, or fog, I am reminded of God. On those days that time gets away from me and I cannot get outside before the darkness descends, I still take the opportunity to be refreshed by looking at nature pictures. Instagram and the internet offer a plethora of wildlife and landscape photographs at which to marvel.

Next time you feel the savage overcoming the serene, try taking a moment to experience some element of nature, whether virtually or physically. Perhaps the opportunity to commune with or remember God will renew your spirit.