On Nature and How I've Missed It

With all the reading challenges, you can probably tell I've missed reading.  Baby D has been a fairly demanding baby, and only recently has she become a little more independent and self entertaining.  I almost don't know what to do with the stretches of free time during the day as she and her sister play.  ("And you want another one?!" I can hear Mr. Hubs saying in his usual dramatic way...)

One evening last month, Mr. Hubs stayed with the kids while I ran to the library.  I had intended on only picking up a knitting book, but of course I got distracted by the rows and rows of inviting titles and covers, which led to many books being opened.  I think, that after being with my family, being in a library aisle, with books to both my sides, is my favorite place to be.  I happened across the book Bird Songs of the Mesozoic by David Hopes.

The title caught my attention first, quickly followed by the cover art.  I love birds.  I love watching them, feeding them, listening to them.  It's fun and relaxing.  Miss Dainty's learned a lot by studying them, too, so that doesn't hurt.   When I realized it was more of a memoir or collection of essays, I almost put it back on the shelf.  I don't particularly enjoy memoir type books.  The few I've read seemed to drone on and on, with no specific plot, and that bothers me to no end.  I need a conflict, and I need a resolution.  But the last part of the title:  A Day Hiker's Guide to the Nearby Wild convinced me to at least give it a try.

When I read that, I instantly thought back to our time in Florida.  Mr. Hubs and I used to hike a lot back then.  Even after having Miss Dainty, we managed to be outdoors more often than not.  We would just put her in the backpack carrier and be on our happy way, enjoying the forests that we thought looked more like jungles at times, with friends who equally enjoyed the outdoors.  The Jacksonville area was awesome when it came to outdoorsy type activities.  They had numerous parks and forests that beckoned hikers, bikers, campers, photographers, and birdwatchers.  I loved it.  I've missed it.

 

**In the top left pic, I was pregnant, but we hadn't found out yet.  In the picture to its right, I was 7 months along and did a 4 mile hike.  =)

I've missed being out in nature, and looking at those pictures from Florida makes that feeling sink in even more.  I've tried here in Virginia, but it seems in our area (at the parks I've visited at least,) the trails are an after thought.  The boat ramps and playgrounds seem most important, and even Frisbee golf takes precedent over the trails at our nearest park.  I have to distract my kids away from the playgrounds for them to even notice nature, and even then, Miss Dainty constantly asks if it's time to go play yet.  I miss just being in nature. 

So, back to the book, I started it that night, and indeed it's been a slow read for me.  I have enjoyed some parts of his writing, especially where he speaks of his interaction with nature in his every day comings and goings.  I share in his appreciation for nature, yet we appreciate it for different reasons.  I'm not sure he really knows why he appreciates it, just that he does.  For me, spending time in nature observing creation, its beauty and intricacies, helps me connect to the Creator.  It's like spending time at a museum and observing a favorite painter's work.  You get to know the artist through his creation, and I feel that way about God and nature.

It reminds me of this passage in the Bible:
Romans 1:19-20 NIV  "since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

On the other hand, the author alludes to a struggle with this concept, and I'm not even sure he meant to.  He first says on page 28 while hiking, "I stop in the road and ask myself, 'What are you afraid of?' Of staying forever the way I am.  Of dying alone and friendless.  Of fighting with God so much that he turns away from me."  I found this an interesting peek into the author's innermost thoughts and struggles.  But then he goes on to say, "None of those things is here.  None of them is coming at me out of the shadows of the forest."  And that is where he was wrong.  His struggle with God would be coming out of the forest, simply due to God's presence in His work, and the author's struggle to acknowledge it.

Later, on page 66, he expresses a struggle with the idea of evolution.  Talking about the evolution of the dragonfly from a larvae type creature, he writes, "What I want to know is, how were they summoned into shining air?  How did it cross their unimaginable little minds even to commence such a journey?  Yes, I know how it's supposed to work, but all the time there has been since the beginning of time should not be enough to turn the one thing into the other."  Exactly, Mr. Hopes.

The book is not meant to be spiritual in the least.  It's a collection of essays on how "nature finds you wherever you are."  But honestly, where there is nature, there is God, naturally.  I am only about halfway done with the book, and I will probably finish it in hopes of more insights and epiphanies on the author's part concerning nature and God.  I'm curious to see if they are in there.  If what is on the cusp of his understanding will click, if what is on the tip of his tongue will be professed.

The book has served as a gentle reminder of how much I missed being outdoors, though.  Sure, I notice things while I'm out and about.  I always do.  The changing color of the leaves, a flock of birds singing as we get home, an interesting bug to point out to the girls, a lizard or turtle sunbathing.  But I miss being immersed in it, in His creation.  Of course, God is always with us, but I enjoy that visual and physical presence found in nature.

Luckily for me, after realizing this, I remembered our Girl Scout troop would be doing a hike, but couldn't recall the exact day (although I knew it was to happen soon.)  When I checked my notes, would you believe it was the very next day?  Good thing I was prompted to check, or we would have missed out on it.  Instead, we went, and enjoyed it.  Miss Dainty ran off on the trails with the girls, while I (with Baby D on my back,) enjoyed, with a renewed appreciation, the scenery, the fresh air, the crunch of the leaves, the sun's warmth (a last farewell before the cold hit.)  And I reveled in it and so did Miss Dainty, and that made me happy. 

Even if I end up not finishing the book, it has served a purpose for me: a reminder of something I love and miss dearly.  Of something I've always wanted to share with my children, and yet haven't been as much as I had intended.  Living in Sicily got us into the habit of not going out with the single purpose of enjoying nature, there was nowhere nearby to go to do so, but now that we are back in the States, I want to change that.  I'm looking forward to it.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 7

Today, I am thankful for:

31.  an awesome church.  We attend Believers Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.  It is an amazing church filled with amazing, loving, genuine people.  We felt so welcomed from day 1, and a year later that feeling has not worn off (because they really mean it!)  We love the contemporary atmosphere and praise and worship.  Tony and I were both baptized here last year.  Because of the spiritual milestones and the friendships we've made here, this church means so much to us.  All of the pastors are so great at teaching the Bible in applicable life lessons.  This church taught us the Gospel in such a life changing way; I truly don't know where we would be if we hadn't found this church.  If you are ever in Hampton Roads (Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Norfolk) area, you should stop by Believers!  (or you can watch the services online!)

Miss Dainty's Answered Prayer

Back in July, Miss Dainty found a caterpillar in our basil box.  She desperately wanted to keep it so we could watch it turn into a butterfly.  The next day, after searching high and low for a jar of some sort, I went outside to get it and couldn't find it anywhere.  A few days later, I was adding a cilantro plant to the planter, and what did I happen to dig up?  A maroon pupae.  So, Miss Dainty was very excited.

We put a little bit of dirt into the jar, and buried it in there, just like it was in the basil box.  A few weeks went by, and eventually a moth made it's appearance into the world.  It was after bedtime when it happened, so I took the jar upstairs to show Miss Dainty.  I let her watch it flit around the jar for a few minutes, and then told her I was going to have to let it go, because we didn't have any food for it.  She was a little upset because she didn't get to see it hatch, and also because she just wanted to keep it.  But I convinced her it wasn't fair to the moth. 

"Do you think we'll find another caterpillar?" she asked me.

"Well, I don't know, maybe," I answered.

"Can I pray for one?" she asked sweetly.

I smiled, "Sure, you can pray for one."  And so she did, very sweetly asking God for another caterpillar.

The summer continued to pass by, and Mr. Hubs and I did find a few caterpillars while doing yard work once, but I wasn't sure which plant they were eating from, so I left them alone.  We eventually went to Botanical Gardens with a homeschool group, and Miss Dainty had her fill of caterpillar and butterfly watching at the butterfly house. After that, we didn't see anymore, and it seemed she forgot about them, especially with Fall approaching to distract her.

Fast forward to two weeks ago.  I went outside to cut some basil to cook with.  I really haphazardly chopped four stalks down with scissors, not paying attention to which ones I was choosing, not being careful at all.  In fact, I shook them off before taking them inside.  Once inside, I grabbed one stalk at a time to pull the leaves off and rinsed them off.  I used 3 of the stalks in dinner that night.  While cleaning up, I grabbed the last stalk and as I was about to throw it away, I figured I might as well put it in a jar of water and use it later.  Didn't think twice about it.

Another week went by, and I started noticing some of the leaves were being chewed away.  I figured my cat must have been getting up there to gnaw on them.  Although, I did think it strange, since she's never gone after my basil before.  She's never liked it.  But I dismissed it, and didn't think about it again.

Then last week, I looked over again and realized the leaves were almost gone!  I assumed, again, that my cat must have suddenly acquired the taste for basil, but as I looked I noticed something I hadn't before: black dots on the counter.  What is that? I thought.

I got closer to take a better look and thought, is that poop?  I looked the plant over more thoroughly, and sure enough, I found a little green caterpillar munching away on one of the last few leaves.  I couldn't believe that it was there, and had been there the whole time! 

Some might say it was coincidence, but I personally don't believe in coincidences.  I cannot believe that 1) he was one of the stalks I just happened to grab, 2) stayed on after the basil was shaken, 3) was on the only stalk I didn't use that night to cook, 4) for some reason I didn't throw that stalk away (even though I had a ton more outside!) and 5) that it didn't fall into the jar of water.

I called Miss Dainty over and after she saw it, she got so incredibly excited.  We placed it in a safer environment, using a smaller jar for water and placing paper towels in it just in case he fell.  I asked Miss Dainty if she remembered what she asked for last time we had a caterpillar.  She thought about it for a second, and her eyes lit up.  "I prayed for another caterpillar!" she exclaimed, "God answered my prayer!"  It was such an awesome moment for her, a wonderful faith building block.  I'm so glad Mr. Hubs and I didn't bring the caterpillars that we had found inside.  I'm so glad I did not interfere, or try to arrange something myself.  This was so not my doing, and it encouraged me as well. 

So this past week, he has been very content in his personal basil buffet.  He's been constantly eating, and the girls have been happily watching him do so.