Nature's Lessons

Every spring, when the flower buds start to bloom on the trees, the temperature slowly rises and it seems like the world is waking up again, I think about an experience that taught me the role of nature in my life.

The summer of my 20th birthday was a very vulnerable time for me. I was a young college student trying to navigate being an adult, relationships, and confidence in who I was. During that summer, I was trying to start over. I moved apartments, hoping that I would find some good friends and be able to move on from the sadness of the previous year. Just six months before, I had ended my first real dating relationship. It was my first true break-up and I felt devastated. It sounds silly looking back on it now, but it was very real at the time. I felt very alone and depressed. But God did not think my feelings were silly. He knew my sorrows and led my path.

I moved forward trying to have faith that the change would bring renewed joy.

Almost immediately after moving in, I began to make friends. They were so welcoming and kind and genuinely interested in knowing me. They had activities almost every night that first week and by the end of the week I felt like I had 20 new best friends.

That summer was a really important time for me. It was a time of building myself back up and regaining my confidence. It was also a time of a lot of learning. I felt that God was trying to help me heal from the sadness I had experienced and that He wanted to remind me that there is always happiness and peace in the world, no matter what may be happening. He came to where I was, to the hardest trial I had experienced up until then, and used different things to help me to heal. One of those things was my new friends.

Another very important thing that helped me to heal was nature.

Through these same friends, I was invited to try many new activities. Some of these friends were very involved in outdoor activities and brought me along on hikes, outdoor climbs, bike rides, and camp-outs. And for the first time I realized the power of nature to heal and to bring joy into our lives.

In the book of Genesis, in the Bible, we read about the creation. God created all things in the earth (Genesis 1). In the Book of Mormon we read that He created it for us: “Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it” (1 Nephi 17:36).

Nature provides many things for us. It provides food, shelter, water, air, etc. that give us the things we need in order to survive. I  think that God also created it in part to give us joy. He created mountains, beaches, and flowers that, although they provide for us in many ways, are just plain beautiful.

Nature is patient. It is still. It is peaceful. When I am in nature, I am able to forget the anxiety I feel about my struggles and sorrows; I feel peace. That is what I initially felt that summer. I would find myself in nature feeling the need to be still and to quiet my heart. I would look out at the beauty of God’s creations and realize that God wanted me to see my life as beautiful. I would breath in the fresh air and feel the weight of my sorrows lift. I would find myself able to smile and laugh again easily.

When I was a teenager I went to a church girls camp each year. One year we went on a silent hike. We weren’t allowed to talk and we were asked to think about what we saw. At one point on the hike we stopped for a break. Suddenly, I noticed a leaf beside me. I looked more closely at it and saw how intricate the design of that leaf was. I saw all the little details that had come into play to make that leaf what it was, though it was such a small, seemingly insignificant plant. I had never noticed this before and was in awe of what an incredible scientist God was.

Through the years, as I have thought about that moment, I have realized that through nature we learn that God is in the details of our lives. We see how He takes care of plants and other things in nature, and we realize that we can compare that to our lives. I love the song “Consider the Lilies”. The lyrics say:

Consider the Lilies of the field

How they grow, how they grow

Consider the birds in the sky

How they fly, how they fly

He clothes the lilies of the field

He feeds the birds in the sky

And He will feed those who trust Him,

And guide them with his eye.

As I look at nature, whether it be a beautiful mountainside, beach, field of wildflowers, or rain-forest, I have no doubt there is a God (Alma 30:44).

I feel as if my time in nature is very sacred, almost like time in a temple or other holy place. In the scriptures, prophets would go to the mountaintops to talk to God. There have been many times I have been searching for God’s voice and for answers in my own life when I have found myself in the mountains. I have been able to quietly plead that God would help me. Though, I do not think you need to be in a specific place to pray, I have felt that my heart is often quieted and in a better place when in nature.

Many times in nature the peace that I have felt has helped me to find perspective. It’s like when you climb to the top of the mountain and you see the beautiful, breathtaking view, and realize the hike was all worth it and for a greater purpose. It’s like that in life. Our life doesn’t always make sense when we focus too much on certain details. But when we put those details into the big picture and see the perspective, we often understand why we have to experience certain things. And we realize that some trials are small compared to the joy that we have and will feel in this life.

Through nature we learn patterns. We learn that “to everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Through each season of the year, I learn more about the different seasons of life. A time to grow, a time to flourish, a time for color, a time for rebirth, a time for death, a time for joy, a time for sorrow. And I have realized that each season has its purpose and each has its beauty.

Ultimately, I feel that nature teaches us that God loves us. He loves us enough to create beauty for us. I think this children’s song says it perfectly:

Whenever I hear the song of a bird

Or look at the blue, blue sky,

Whenever I feel the rain on my face

Or the wind as it rushes by,

Whenever I touch a velvet rose

Or walk by our lilac tree,

I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world

Heav’nly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see

The color of butterfly wings.

He gave me my ears that I might hear

The magical sound of things.

He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:

I thank him rev’rently

For all his creations, of which I’m a part.

Yes, I know Heav’nly Father loves me.

As I think of these lyrics, I realize that I too am a part of God’s creations. That He gave me specific gifts and abilities that allow me to find joy and beauty in the world around me.

Last fall, I went to the mountains near my house to pray. I wanted to feel that my life had purpose even when some aspects weren’t exactly how I had planned them to be. I hiked a little on a trail that a friend had told me about. The sun was shining and the leaves were just starting to change colors. I found myself thinking of the miracle and beauty of nature that had touched me so many times. And suddenly, I was very distinctly reminded that my life, my body, and my mind are all miracles. So many of the lessons I had learned about nature came back to me. And I felt so strongly then that God knew and loved me. That He had used nature again to teach me about His plan and His love for me.

Today, I find myself in nature a lot. I plan whole vacations around nature and spend much of my free time hiking. I continue to learn about the goodness of nature and love to share it with those around me. I find myself going back to nature time and time again because it reminds me about the nature of God and His goodness in my life. I will always be grateful for what I learned that summer so many years ago.

You may also view this posted on A Voice of Gladness.