Nature is our church
If you want to find peace, walk in the woods
It’s a gorgeous day here. Not too hot, not too humid, wispy clouds dancing across the sky. A perfect day to go to church on a walk in the woods.
The wildflowers are starting to peek up through the forest floor. We stop to listen to the wind rushing through the trees, close our eyes, and inhale the heady scent of white pine and river birch.
A breeze brings joy to our faces as we meander past an apple blossom tree. Flowers dance in the wind while a floral scent caresses our cheeks.
The river is high, so high that trees are dipping their branches into the river. We have to take a different path because the one we’re on suddenly disappears under a foot of water.
It doesn’t bother us. We could stay out here all day. Jasper is on his long leash, smelling, foraging, tail wagging, investigating everything. I see marsh marigolds everywhere.
And I hug trees. Trees bring me solace, they calm my brain. I clamber into a giant tree, and my husband sneaks a photo of me as I stare up into its majestic branches. I whisper “thank you” to the strong limb that held me as I climb back down onto the soft ground.
We walked out of the woods better than we were. We went to our church and experienced peace, we saw perfection, and we are renewed.
