PSALM 23, VERSES 2 & 3

There’s nothing like being out in Nature! Well, maybe some of us prefer viewing it through a window…, but that “voyeur” type of observing can’t have the impact of being there in the body. The view is only part of the experience.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Red Bluff, California, a small town in the northern part of the state, where I could absorb the essence of Nature firsthand. The forest fires that burned Redding and are still burning in the Paradise area are less than 50 miles from my hometown. Even though the physical vestiges that were part of such beautiful memories are literally disappearing, the essence of those recollections remain in my mind and heart. They still bring joy and peace to me.

Our church camp was located in the higher foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of 4,900 feet close to a three-building town called Mineral, CA. Since it was only about an hour from home, my family traveled up there several times during the year, not only during the summer “camp meeting” time. There were all sorts of sights to see: the campground with cabins and a church; the railroad tie bridge that crossed ice-cold Battle Creek to get to the campground. There was a campground for RV’s and tents and Mineral proper with a restaurant and general store. Not too far along the highway you could find a mountain meadow called Child’s Meadow filled with  

wildflowers and the meandering Battle Creek. Go a little farther to the snow skiing lodge and ski runs or find your way to the trailhead that leads to the still-active Lassen volcano crater.

On Saturdays during the winter our high school sponsored a “ski bus” that students paid $3 to ride up the mountain to the ski lodge. There we could ski, sled or just tromp through the snow to our hearts’ content before returning to the valley. WOW!! What memories I have of those days.

But there were intangible instances that were experienced that we didn’t even register. I mean, who were we but kids, right?! How did the majesty of giant sentinel trees affect our riotous romp through the forest? What impact did a babbling cold creek have on us except to turn the skin bright red on our feet after an ill-advised wading episode? Why would the rainbow of wildflowers or the lush green of a mountain meadow make us shiver with delight at the beauty? Where could we experience the silence of snow so dramatically booming? When, other than after a day on the mountain, could you sleep so deeply that it brought healing?

Verses 2 and 3 of Psalm 23 speak to our love of God’s natural beauty. Through it…

…He leads us—to see His awesome hand at work in creation and lets us experience the peace it brings our stress-ravaged bodies and minds;

…He leads us—in His ways which are upright, noble and blameless to bring us into successful living.

All this is done because of His unfailing love for us!

We, who are unworthy, in and of ourselves, of such a profound love can receive it gladly because He offers it unfettered. We can run in green meadows and drink of clear quiet water. We can regain equilibrium for our minds and bodies. We can walk, or run, or amble beside, or chase after God as He leads us, because He is guiding us into who we were created to be. He—God, the Creator, the I Am—made us as His show-stopping, mind-boggling children. We carry his DNA!

His name is glorified, lifted up and praised by ALL creation.

Ladying for today: God ministers to us: mind, soul and body. It’s all about who He is, and we get the overflow. Receive it, revel in it and let it overhaul and change you!