“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

Psalm 19:1-4 NIV

My husband GINGERLY tows our LARGE travel trailer so that our family can go camping with ‘the comforts of home’.  By ‘COMFORTS’, I mean, bringing many of our furry friends.  Andy removed the dining table and bench as well as the couch to make room for animal enclosures and adult sized bodies to sleep on the floor. As we careen down hills, and barrel around curves WAY too fast, my hubby swears and, I pray.  Our kids (all over 18 except for 1) sit squished together in our F-150, which is VERY difficult for our daughter who lives with severe OCD ETC.  Everyone is packed in like sardines.  The twins and their youngest brother in the back, Andy and my oldest son in the front, with me between them.  I have to keep my feet up on the console with my knees way up in the air – it’s like doing a 6 hour abdominal CRUNCH.  Man, my knees ache, and my belly gets sore!  The 3 guinea pigs are stuffed under the back seat.  The gerbils are in two carriers at the feet of one of my daughters.  The dog sits ON TOP of my other daughter and son.  It is GRUELING.  But we have collectively decided that it IS worth it.

Do you watch ‘The Chosen’ series on TV?  It’s not for everyone, but I enjoy the visual and the literary license taken to depict ‘A’ story about the ministry of Jesus the Christ.  MY CHRIST.  There is an episode in season one, illustrating Jesus BEFORE the onset of his public life, BEFORE he calls his disciples or any of that.  In it, Jesus pitches camp – FOR REAL. He sets up a cloth shelter, makes a fire pit surrounded by rocks, collects wood, forages food,  builds a wooden table, a work bench for tools he carries with him, and a hanging rack. He cooks over the fire with clay pots, and eats from homemade bowls.  He sleepswith his body on the GROUND.  He washes his face in a stream. He prays and exercises.  He sits and CARVES MANY things.  He hums and sings and EVEN tells campfire stories to children who visit him. 

It resonates.  I was raised by AVID, RUSTIC style campers.  I have given up some of THAT experience to accommodate the unique needs of MY children that would otherwise have prevented us from camping AT ALL. But I can speak this language of minimalistic, nomadic, nature exposed, and nature dependent circumstances.

The wallpaper on my phone is my FAVORITE icon of Jesus, “Christ in the Wilderness” by artist Kelly Latimore. She pictures Jesus sitting alone in the wilderness, under a starry sky, next to a campfire. He looks run down, in need of a rest. He gazes at the galaxies above, perhaps pondering HIS HUMAN SMALLNESS. The way he sits suggests he is cold or maybe shielding his legs from biting flies.  It is meant to represent his 40 days of temptation by the devil.  He is removed from all the ‘comforts’ of civilization and faced with the discomfort of CREATURELY living. To me, it speaks of reorienting oneself to the earth, the enormity of creation, and solidarity with lions and tigers and bears, OH MY! In my camping experience there have been bears, yes. Chipmunks, racoons, skunks, deer, and the damn mosquitoes are the norm.

A funny thing happens when we settle into our campsite.  My son who has led the life of a HERMIT since Covid, emerges from the trailer to sit by the fire.  To go for hikes with the dog.  To visit with extended family.  To smile and laugh, I can see his eyes and it fills me with RELIEF and JOY.  He worries me, SO.  

My neurodiverse daughter ALSO gladly emerges.  She hunts for all things living, capturing frogs, snails, millipedes, aphids, salamanders, moths,  isopods (roley poley/pill bugs), spiders and Daddy Longlegs (did YOU know they ARE NOT spiders? I still don’t like them).  She admires them ALL and thoroughly researches them on her tablet.  She takes tons of pictures and then releases them back where she found them.  Her OCD seems to vanish as she treks through the bush, off the path,  searching through rotten logs, under rocks, and in the dirt.  She loves seeing nature in action.  Ants moving their larva. The variety of mushrooms. How the chipmunks taunt the dog and steal her kibble.  She doesn’t realize how much exercise she is getting.  Like my son, she has exerted little energy since Covid.

The rest of us drink in as much of the beauty and serenity each day brings, even as it rains, as our pets get sick, and the trailer breaks.  Being outside ignites energy.  It lights a fire in our weary souls.  We suddenly feel the urge to move, to explore, to create, and to EAT. All that fresh air makes us VERY hungry!  

In Jesus time, I don’t suppose the smells and stuffiness of being indoors was very appealing. Going outside and breathing deeply is therapy for a life so congested with STUFF and overscheduling.  It allows a moment to taste and see that the Lord is good.   Look up, look down, look around, look within.  God is everywhere.  Nature opens us to receive the gifts of energy renewed, hearts filled, and the hope of living unto death.  

No matter what your position on the spectrum of mental health, I prescribe for you to GET OUTSIDE!  Creation speaks not a word.  Creation enfolds, inspires, energizes, and teaches us how this planet is good. The animals – mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, insects, arachnids, molluscs- vertebrates and invertabrates, they are GOOD!  Trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, weeds – ALL GOOD!  Dirt, soil, rocks, and sand, moss, fungi – so very GOOD!  Each with a God-given gift to serve the earth and EACH OTHER!  WE are a part of this circle of GOODNESS! The same SPIRIT is where we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28).  

Maybe Jesus wasn’t REALLY a camper, but he appreciated the created world.  Maybe you aren’t a camper EITHER.  You can STILL enjoy the fragrance of a beautiful garden, the breeze on your skin, the sound of the wind through the trees, the taste of the fresh bounty from the earth, birdsong, chipmunk chatter, the cry of a loon, the touch of soft grass on your toes, the smell and pitter patter of the rain.  Nature embraces you just as the Spirit embraces you, wherever you are, whoever you are, however you are. These natural things are available to us to seek out, to nurture, and to visit.  Serenity is found in hearts that listen for the ‘ground of all being’ that sings the rythm of the universe into the foundation of our humanity, into our Godspark, our very soul.  What a BLESSING to belong to this GOODNESS.