Kendall Smith, No-Div
Kendall is an elementary science teacher and an avid lover of books, nature, and long walks. She is easily distracted by thunderstorms and loves a good conversation over coffee.
“Silence is praise to you,
Zion-dwelling God,
And also obedience.
You hear the prayer in it all…
All your salvation wonders
are on display in your trophy room.
Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,
Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser…
Dawn and dusk take turns calling,
‘Come and worship.’”
Psalm 65 (from The Message)
Four years ago I signed up for a class at a nearby arboretum hoping to get my 3 easy credit hours to renew my teaching license. It was going to be a week-long commitment, but they promised food and coffee, so I was in.
Little did I know, that course would profoundly shape how I viewed creation, and therefore, God. We started each morning with fresh coffee in hand, sitting quietly along the path somewhere alone. Those were the only requirements: be alone, be quiet. It was other-worldly. The words and thoughts and emotions that flooded over me in those 15 minutes each day set me up to see and hear the beauty of creation in ways I hadn’t been listening for before. Yes, the class was equipping me to use native plants to teach science topics to my elementary students. But the deeper truth is that God awoke in me a deep love for Him through nature that week.
I gazed at flowers slowly and up close and realized that these plants were each a miracle: created to adapt to whatever changes come our way. Deep roots find water and survive harsh cold and wind. Tall stems push up seeds higher than I stand to catch the infamous Kansas winds and ensure new plants. Sand-papery leaves promise plants survival--even against the swarms of summer grasshoppers. Surely this was no accident.
Recently I listened to an incredible podcast episode by Pete Enns, on his podcast “The Bible for Normal People”. He interviewed Ilia Delio who is a scientist and theologian--her perspective on love and God and evolution was incredibly beautiful. You can listen to the interview here. She claims that, “Nature is the first book of Revelation,” meaning, it is through nature that we see and understand God. Since He created it, shouldn’t nature reflect his goodness and character? She goes on, “so, how do we know God? We can observe the things of nature...God is the God of creation.”
Whether you used to go to church or not, because of this COVID-19 virus, most of us find ourselves at home on a Sunday morning now. We may be watching online sermons, but we are singing and worshiping alone…or at least in a much smaller group of people. If you’re discouraged by the absence of other voices and are feeling that it’s impossible to experience meaningful worship outside the church walls--listen in! Creation has been praising God since the day it was born--we are living in God’s temple! You only need to step outside your front door and find a quiet place to listen. Let your praising soul join with the song of the birds, the whisper of the wind, the rustling of the leaves. Open your face and heart to God just as the leaves and flowers open up to the sun, hungrily soaking in it’s rays for nourishment and life. Bask in God’s goodness to you. It is a slow, patient kind of goodness--the kind that takes time to understand but that never runs out.
Eugene Peterson, who wrote the Message paraphrase of the Bible, says that “...God has been working diligently, redemptively, and strategically before I appeared on the scene, before I was aware there was something here for me to do.” Perhaps the best way for us to bear witness to this is through a wonder-filled attention to creation. Come {outside} and worship! And bring your mug of coffee…