River Legacy

Deprivation of Creation
Why do we walk around in the hustle and bustle of this world not noticing what is around us? Sure we may “Ooh and ah” with our neighbor at their newly planted rose bush. And, if we have time between stopping at the gas station and grabbing a cup of cappuccino before heading to a meeting, we may even smell the wildflowers next to the gas station bathroom. Is that a sweet, dainty purple flower or the smell of the grape flavored sucker the kid in front of me tried to throw in the store front trash can and missed? How have we come to this? Like the erosion of the river is unapparent over years and years, so is our plunge from the nostalgic, daily experience of nature. Nature was given to us as a gift, and it was us who chose to push it to the side in a quest for the “good” life. I beg many pardons, but sitting in traffic two hundred days a year is not exactly what I call “good” or even “ideal.” Today’s experience was nothing short of not only a visit to the joy and innocence of childhood, but a sharp realization that if you peer closely enough, that childlike spirit is still within us. Seeing grown women run around chasing insects, peering and asking about furry unidentifiable insects is nothing short of a miracle. Grabbing my camera and chasing after butterflies may not be the best way to spend a morning for “civilized” adults, but it was therapy, a spiritual realization that I need to come back to my senses and realize this life is much better than we could ever imagine. If those spiders have food and webs to stay safe in, if the butterflies fly freely, and if the birds can obtain food free from harm of predators, what am I worrying about? I didn’t dwell on the cell phone bill or what is on the agenda for next week in my day planner. The wonder of creation was enough for me to realize we focus too much on what does not matter. Below I have given descriptions of the pictures I have taken.
When I first started walking, one of the first things I thought was “how can I be missing this?” The beauty of sunlight shining through the aged leaves of the trees was simply breathtaking. As we started the path, a classmate said something to the effect of “Why don’t we do this more often?” This was not only the "Handwriting of God" as spoken by a classmate but truly it was an expression of "How Great Thou Art."