I love the idea for this thread,
.sparrow!
The first post was beautifully expressed, and
dojilynn's verse is so very appropriate.
There have been many instances in my life where I've been outdoors, usually alone or at least without disturbance, where the Lord has whispered sweet nothings in my ear. He and I carry on quite the conversation! I usually come away from those encounters thinking they'd make great devotionals, if only I could remember them in the detail in which they took place.
Three specific instances come to mind:
~~~~~
It was Fall in Alaska, and my family was alone on a deserted island located near the edge of a large river. I was sitting in a camp chair enjoying the palette of colors that surrounded me, the lapping of the water against the shore, and the bald eagle hunting for its next meal. I remember thinking about how much God must love human beings to bless them with such beauty. After all, he could have created a black and white world; we wouldn't have known the difference. He could have created a uniform world, instead of one with abundant diversity. He could have presented us with a single, perfect food that would have nourished us. Instead, he presented us with a feast of beauty and bounty and taste. He gave us a world that would delight us in both its simplicity and its majesty. He wanted us to enjoy the world, not simply endure it.
I contemplated the "What is man?" scriptures, and knew that we are His creation, His beloved in whom he takes great delight. Like the psalmist in Psalm 8, I concluded:
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
~~~~~
Picking blueberries in the rain isn't my idea of a favorite activity, especially when the blueberries are scarce. However, there I was, kneeling on a drippy hillside while my family stayed warm, cozy, and dry in our camper a few yards away. I was feeling a little sorry for myself when I heard the sweet voice of my Lord. Again, we had quite the conversation, and many lessons were learned and blessings shared.
I don't remember everything we shared, but I do remember hearing that His Word is sweet like the blueberries I was harvesting. I was told that I would reap a bountiful harvest if I persevered in the Word in troubled times as well as good, just like I would be reaping a harvest of blueberries in the rain. My walk with Him wouldn't always be comfortable, and sometimes I would be suffering while others enjoyed themselves, but He would be with me always. Other times, when I least expected it, my life would be blessed beyond abundance just like I usually reaped an abundance of blueberries in my favorite picking spot. I was told not to take such abundance for granted, because such abundance would sometimes disappear (just like the blueberries in my favorite spot had disappeared that year), but blessings were still available. I just had to open my eyes to new possibilities and see my circumstances through God's eyes rather than my own.
~~~~~
After a moose carcass was found in the neighbor's yard, just a short distance from my own house, I determined to do something about the devil's club that grew prolifically in my own backyard. A person will have to understand something about this plant to fully appreciate the lessons I learned from the Lord. Take a look at it:
Oplopanax horridus
The first thing that impresses people about this plant is it's abundance of thorns. (It doesn't get the name "horridus" for nothing. They're horrid!) The thick, woody vine/root has huge thorns. Stems of leaves have medium ones. Even the leaves themselves are covered with small, prickly ones.
The next thing that impresses most people is the size of the plant. The devil's club in my backyard grew taller than me! It appeared lush and thick, with huge leaves, like something out of a rain forest. It screened other plant growth and actually inhibited most because it received all the sunshine. While most animals wouldn't venture into it because of the thorns, bears thought of it as candy. The problem was, we couldn't see the bears because of the screen of green.
So, I waited until Fall so the leaves would die back and I could more easily see where I was going. I donned thick jeans, heavy boots, and even thicker gloves. Armed with my trusty loppers and a bottle of Round-up, I ventured into enemy territory.
Ouch! Ouch! OUCH! (*#@&%$ thorns!) Grumble, grumble.
Determined to get even, I started lopping the thick vine and applying Round-up to the fresh cut. Cut ... Spray ... Cut ... Spray ... Over and over until I had a small pile of limbs to haul out! Ouch! Ouch! OUCH! Those #*@$^% thorns were piercing my leather gloves!
Well, as the battle progressed over several days, the Lord impressed upon me how that plant was a living metaphor for the fallen world and my life. The thing of beauty (sin) contained stickers that hurt. The huge leaves hid even greater danger (bears/deadly situations). I was reminded that sin is insidious, just like the roots/vines of this plant are. If I followed the root on which I was currently working, I'd find that it crisscrossed the yard, just as the effects of sin wove a interrelated, tangled web. This should give the reader an idea of what I was being told, but one needs to understand that the Lord made
many connections, including some insights about how Satan works.
Then, the Lord told me how I needed to work at exterminating the sin in my life as vigorously as I was fighting this plant. As I worked on one area at a time, I would expose the ugly roots that would keep growing if I didn't kill them like I was trying to kill the devil's club by painting it with Round-up. Just as I donned protective garb to fight this plant, I needed be don the whole armor of God to fight the sin in my own life and any fiery arrows the devil might send my way. He let me know that I needed to recognize sin for what it was, so I needed to know his Word as well as become aware of what was happening in the world. Again, I was told much more than what I've presented.
I did battle with the devil's club for three years straight before moving. The first year opened up the backyard sufficiently to spot any interlopers. The second year, I had to tackle new growth and get any of the old stuff I missed on the first pass. The third year, the yard was much cleaner, but I still had to be diligent. The battle got easier the more relentless I was. I was, in essence, reclaiming my backyard. It was becoming a pleasant place, even one that I considered spending time in and enhancing with beautiful plants. More spiritual lessons were learned as I understood the process of becoming a new creature.
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