I was walking alone through the woods next to the Skagit river this evening. It was still sunny, but the canopy of green was causing these mystical shadows to throw themselves across the trail. Almost like a good photograph or painting - the moss growing on the trees, the dust of the trail, dew on the fungus.. The smell of green after a good rain.
Walking through something as majestic and ancient as a forrest of trees - something so mystically charged as moss-covered branches - I am again reminded of the revelation of the Infinite within Creation. From trees grasping at both sky and earth, to the berries and nettles growing around the trunks to the bugs eating the berries.. This reality, our realm pulls the veil of mystery back another fraction on the character and person of our God.
I’ve been finding that walking (meandering) and praying out loud has yeilded some of the most intimate and revealing times of conversation with the Lord. Maybe it’s taking time to slowly observe the intricacies of life that causes honest introspection and confession. Being alone prompts explicit honesty, spoken audibly to process and focus with as much intensity as possible.
A friend and I once had a conversation about how we tend to look for God to speak to us through ‘regular’ channels of communication (especially culturally and experientially). I believe God is far greater and more infinite than can ever be experienced and communicated, but deep deep down my driving motive is to know Him. What does it take to know God? Better still, will I be listening and available to him as he communicates with me on multiple channels?
Whether through dreams, prayer, the Bible, spoken prayers in the wilderness, whispered pleas in the dark or a lovers heart in a crowded coffee shop - I want to be aware and sensitive to the unique revelation of my Father in every possible situation. By taking pictures and showers, I live in the presence of God. In conversations and silence, I hear his voice. Through discipline and enjoyment, I seek to more fully understand his mystery. Within brokenness and devotion, I strive to become useful in His hands.
I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.
(Ps. 63.3 NLT)