Seeing Creation

“Forgive us our sins…” Luke 11:4

One of the most powerful novels I’ve ever read is The Brothers Karamazov by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky.  In one portion of this classic the character Father Zossima tells his fellow monks the story of his brother’s, Markel, last days.  Markel, who previously cared little for God or religion had a change of heart.  He began asking for both God’s forgiveness and that of others.  Next he did something no one could have expected, he asked the birds to forgive him.  Here are his words: “Birds of God, joyful birds, you, too, must forgive me, because I have also sinned before you.”  Zossima says “None of us could understand it then, but he was weeping with joy.   ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘there was so much of God’s glory around me: birds, trees, meadows, sky and I alone lived in shame.  I alone dishonored everything, and did not notice the beauty and glory of it all.’ “ When Markel’s mother told him he was “taking too many sins upon yourself” he responded, “Dear mother, my joy, I am weeping from gladness, not from grief; I want to be guilty before them, only I cannot explain it to you, for I do not even know how to love them.”

I’ve been involved in a lot of discussions lately concerning forgiveness but most of them related to people who had hurt one another. In forty years of ministry I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone speak of asking the birds or nature to forgive them but as I read Dostoevsky’s words again this morning it seemed like what Markel did was something we all need to do.  In so many different ways we sin against Creation on a regular basis.  The birds Markel spoke of have certainly suffered.  At nearby John James Audubon State Park there is a museum that features a lot of items related to Audubon’s life.  One item tour guides invariably point to is a well preserved stuffed passenger pigeon.  At one time there were millions of these birds but today they are now extinct.  I almost feel like the next time I’m there I need to ask its forgiveness.

To some asking a bird or some tree for forgiveness would sound ridiculous but I do not believe that it is at all. When you look at the stress that we have placed on animals as we’ve wiped out their habitat how can you not apologize?  When you see where huge majestic trees have been clear-cut how can you not weep and feel sorry?  When you see fish that have died from pollution dead on the shore how can you not ask for their forgiveness?

In Dostoevsky’s novel Merkel admits that he does not “even know how to love” all of God’s creatures.  Elsewhere in The Brothers Karamazov one of his characters says, “Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If thou love each thing thou wilt perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once thou perceive this, thou wilt thenceforward grow every day to a fuller understanding of it: until thou come at last to love the whole world with a love that will then be all-embracing and universal.”  It is certainly clear that Dostoevsky believed that we should, in fact, love all of Creation and for good reason—so that we might in turn know and love the Creator.

In any relationship where love is involved there will come a time when we must ask the one we love for forgiveness. If we truly love God’s Creation there will likewise be times when we must say “I’m sorry.”  As I look around me it would seem that time is now.

–Chuck

(I photographed the northern cardinal and indigo bunting in western Kentucky and the raven at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico.)

The title of this blog may lead you to believe I’m about to offer a review of the current movie, A Walk in the Woods, based on the book of the same name by Bill Bryson.   If that is what you were hoping I’m afraid I will disappoint you, although I will say I thoroughly enjoyed both the movie and the book. Instead I want to use this opportunity to encourage you to take a walk in the woods. For practically my whole life I have enjoyed spending time in the woods. For the last couple of decades I’ve escaped to the woods whenever time allowed to either hike or photograph. It has only been in the last month that I have started making a deliberate effort to walk in the woods every day. I am glad that I’ve done so for a variety of reasons.

There are certainly physical benefits that come from walking in the woods. I desperately need to lose some weight and this was what originally led me to begin walking every day at nearby John James Audubon State Park. I have a treadmill at my home but I’ve never been able to use it regularly for long periods of time, primarily because I find it terribly boring. I always dreaded getting on the treadmill. Walking in the woods has proven to be an altogether different story. I look forward to my time there each day. I’ve already lost ten pounds and am hoping that I’ll be able to lose a lot more.   Losing weight, however, is only one physical benefit of walking in the woods. Various studies have shown doing so may help prevent cancer and that the scents of the forest (think pine, fir, cedar and cypress trees) can help reduce stress. I’m not sure I understand how but some studies suggest walking in the woods aids memory retention and learning. Another study indicates that walking in the woods helps lower blood pressure to a greater degree than walking in an urban setting.

There are also mental health benefits to be gained by taking a walk in the woods. Earlier this year a study led by Gregory Bratman was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science that indicated that walking in the woods, even for a short duration, can decrease the pattern of thinking that is associated with the onset, in some cases, of mental illness like depression. The focus of this study was rumination, that pattern many of us have of reminding ourselves of all the bad things that are going on in our life. The study revealed that there is a change in brain activity that occurs when people walk in a natural setting that does not occur in an urban setting that is quite beneficial to mental health.

In addition to having both physical and mental benefits, I have discovered that a walk in the woods also has spiritual benefits. Like many others, I feel a closeness to God when I am in the woods. Being surrounded by God’s Creation leads me to a greater awareness of the Creator’s presence. I have also found that the time I have alone in the woods as I walk is a great time to pray. My walks typically last between forty minutes and an hour. Most of that time is spent praying. In my everyday work life I find it hard to set aside that much time to pray. Thus, by walking in the woods my prayer life has been enhanced. Furthermore, as I have noted in another recent blog, I find that there are lots of spiritual lessons to be learned just by observing God’s Creation. With good reason both the wise writer of Proverbs (6:6, 30:24ff) and Jesus himself (Matthew 6:26, 28) encouraged us to pay attention to the natural world around us.

With all of this in mind, I do want to encourage you to take a walk in the woods. I realize that may not be possible for everyone but if you are physically able and have access to a good natural setting to walk in do it. There are physical, mental and spiritual benefits just waiting for those who will take the time to do so. That I know for a fact.

–Chuck

(In order to get the full benefits of my daily walks in the woods I do not take my camera with me.  The pictures used above are, however, images I’ve captured at John James Audubon State Park here in Henderson, KY, and are typical of what I see each day.)

I guess I’m finally going to have to admit it.  I’ve become a birder.  I never thought that would happen but the evidence is overwhelming.  In recent months I’ve spent over $100 on bird books,  attended three programs on birds, and spent a small fortune on bird seed and other birding supplies.  I’m currently reading a fascinating book on bird language called What the Robin Knows by Jon Young.  I’ve started keeping my long lens in the car so that if I come across a good opportunity to photograph a bird I’ll be ready.  I’ve even been listening to recordings of bird sounds so I can better identify the birds I’m hearing around me.  I haven’t reached the obsessed stage yet but I’m afraid it’s coming.

I’ve always liked birds.  Don’t most people? I’ve enjoyed taking pictures of them for a number of years.    Yes, I’ve liked birds for a long time but it wasn’t until I moved back to western Kentucky a couple of years ago that I really started getting interested in them.  Where I now reside is by anyone’s definition a birder’s paradise.  It is located on a major flyway and has an abundance of remarkable habitat that draws many birds to the area.  John James Audubon lived here long ago and the area no doubt contributed to his own passion for birds.  A state park that bears his name is located just a mile from my home and it has a plethora of bird species year round.

Having so many species of birds at my back door (literally) has sparked my interest in birds.  I’m still not very good at identifying a good many species and I find distinguishing bird calls to be incredibly difficult and frustrating.  Still, I intend to work on both disciplines and hopefully will make improvements in the coming months.  I have a feeling I’ll never be that good at it but I guess I’m finally ready to officially join the ranks of birders.

Jesus once encouraged his disciples to “look at the birds of the air.” (Mt. 6:26)   Since it is estimated that there are around 10,000 species of birds that may take a while.  He also told a group “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” (Mt. 10:29)  Both biblical passages remind me that we can, in fact, learn much from “the birds of the air.”  The late theologian and preacher John Stott has a wonderful book called The Birds: Our Teachers.  If you are interested in learning spiritual principles derived from observing birds I highly recommend this book.  Perhaps if I pay careful attention I might learn a few lessons as well.

O.k., I feel better getting that off my chest.  Birders of the world (all 22 million of you) take note; you have added one more member to your tribe.  I hope you will accept me and be patient with me.  I have a lot to learn!

–Chuck

(I took the images shown above–northern cardinal, rose-breasted grosbeak, goldfinch and prothonotary warbler over the past week at my home and at Henderson Sloughs WMA.

I am blessed to live just a mile from John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, Kentucky.  After work today I decided to head that way and take a walk.  It didn’t take long for me to come to the conclusion that spring has definitely arrived in western Kentucky.  Not only were there the proverbial robins hopping around, there were wildflowers everywhere.  I saw Dutchmen’s breeches, toothwort, squirrel corn and bloodroot in bloom.  I also observed Virginia bluebells, trillium and anemones beginning to emerge.  In only a matter of days there will be a wonderful floral display for anyone willing to take even a short walk in the woods.  If I had taken the same walk just a couple of weeks ago I would not have seen the many flowers I did this afternoon.  Winter still held its grip on the landscape.  I may not have been able to see them then but I would have known that they were coming.  Spring wildflowers are as predictable as spring itself.  Even on the most frigid snowy day of winter you know it’s just a matter of weeks before you will begin to see new life emerging from the earth.

Alexander Pope long ago penned the famous line “hope springs eternal.”  Nature has a way of reminding us that things do not remain as they are.  Spring always follows winter.  In fact, it is the hope of spring’s arrival that enables a lot of us to get through the dreary and cold days of winter.  In winter’s darkest hour we know a brighter day is coming.

There is a corresponding truth in the spiritual realm.  Many people experience times in their life that may well be compared to the cold and dark days of winter.  These times can come in any season of the year or in our lives.  We get discouraged or depressed.  We feel lonely and isolated.  Some may begin to lose hope when winter seems to characterize their lives.  But I believe that hope truly does spring eternal, that there is always hope of better days to come. This hope is based purely on my faith in God.

Hebrews 11:1 says “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  When it’s winter in our lives, just like when it’s winter in nature, we have the assurance that spring will come.  My faith leads me to believe that with God in the picture there is always a better day to come.  I am certainly not naïve; I realize that here on earth that the “better day” we desire does not always arrive.  Still I am “sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  I believe that this life is not all that there is and that there is a far better day waiting for us on the other side of death’s door.  One way or another a better day is coming!

I think I now understand why God arranged for Easter to take place in spring…

–Chuck

(I took the pictures used above at John James Audubon State Park this afternoon.)

When I moved to western Kentucky six months ago I already had in the back of my mind the question, what will I do for fall photography?  Living in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and Kentucky the past twenty-four years had spoiled me.  For autumn beauty few places can match the splendor of the southern Appalachian mountains.  After that many years in the area there were numerous locations I could count on for spectacular fall images and I returned to many of them year after year.  But now I live between five and seven hours from those spots.  I knew I would not be able to return to this familiar territory this year and could only hope that I would be able to find something to photograph.  Part of me feared that I would not be able to find anything in my present region that would move me like my beloved mountains further east.

Thankfully I can report that I have found a number of wonderful locations to do nature photography in western Kentucky and southern Illinois and Indiana as well.  The scenery nearby may not have tall mountains but the beauty of God’s Creation is surely manifest here as well.  I’ve enjoyed photographing in Henderson Sloughs Wildlife Management Area since moving to Henderson, Kentucky, but really did not think it would be a good location for fall photography.  On Friday I learned I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I also made another trip to Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois on Friday and was impressed with the colors there.  There is a ruggedness to this location that already has found a niche in my heart.  Today I spent a couple of hours photographing at James John Audubon State Park.  Here in Audubon’s old stomping grounds I found a brilliant display of autumn’s palette.  As I drove home I found myself offering thanks for being able to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

I share all of this to remind myself and you that the change we often fear can, at times, turn out to be a wonderful blessing.  I have never found change to be easy.  I understand that change is inevitable but at the same time when I know changes are coming fear is usually my first response.  I start to worry about whether I will be able to adapt to what is to come.  I stress out about the unknown before me.  Still, over the years I have come to learn that despite my fears I can always move forward because God is with me.  Countless times I have turned to Joshua 1:9 for comfort.  There God says “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”   In God I find my constant in the midst of change.  He is, after all, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

I am also discovering that the constancy of God’s presence is evident in nature.  I do not have to be in the mountains to feel or sense God’s nearness.  The geography, flora and fauna may change in the places that I live and travel to but the One who made all things continues to reveal Himself to me through that which He has made wherever I happen to be.  In nature we find a perpetual reminder that in the midst of an ever-changing world there stands the unchanging Creator who has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  That makes facing change far less scary for me.  I hope it does for you too.

–Chuck

(I took the top image at Henderson Sloughs Wildlife Management Area, the second image at Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois, and the bottom two images at John James Audubon State Park.)

Late yesterday afternoon I had a little free time so I drove over to John James Audubon State Park, about five miles from where I am currently living.  There has been very little evidence of fall foliage in town but I wanted to go to the park to scout it a bit, thinking ahead to when the colors do get good.  I was pleasantly surprised to find isolated patches of color in the trees around one of the park’s lakes.  I took a few pictures, hiked a couple of the trails and then went home.  I posted four pictures I had just taken on Facebook and then left to go teach my Tuesday night Bible study class.

When I got home later in the evening I saw where a number of people had “liked” my images on Facebook but what surprised me was the number of comments that accompanied them.  People talked about the beautiful colors and one indicated that the image captured “fall” for him.  I was amused by the comments because there was actually very little color in the park.  I would estimate that the foliage was only around 15% peaked and that was just at the lake.  I hiked two or three miles and saw almost no fall colors at all in the woods.

The experience has made me think some today.  By focusing on just a handful of trees I was able to compose images that gave the impression that fall was in full swing here.  People were excited by what they saw while I went home disappointed that we didn’t have more fall colors right now.  Now admittedly, others only saw what I showed them through my lens.  They didn’t see as I did that almost all the other trees were still green. Still, I have to ask myself why I didn’t focus more on the beauty at hand.  This reminds me in a roundabout way that what we focus on in life is very important.  I had made a conscious effort to focus on the beauty in a few trees with my camera but my mind seemed to be more focused on the lack of color elsewhere.  It is apparent now that my focus or attitude should have been different.  I should have been more grateful for what I did see instead of bemoaning what I didn’t.

This is something I, and a lot of other people, struggle with in other areas of life.  We tend to dwell more on what we don’t have instead of what we already d0 have.  This robs a person of much peace and joy.  It creates discontentment when that is not necessary.   All of this hits close to home—literally.  My wife and I still haven’t sold our house in eastern Kentucky so we have been living in temporary housing for the past few months.  It’s a small duplex and we are using borrowed furniture.  Over 80% of what we own is five and a half hours away.  This has created a lot of inconveniences and I will confess that it has bothered me greatly.  I find myself often dwelling on what I don’t have or what I’m missing.  The more I dwell on it the more depressed I become.

I’m not sure that I will ever like living in this setting but I have come to realize that I will be much better off if I will focus on the good in my life, that which I have, instead of that which I’m missing.  I still have my wonderful wife with me and our beloved dog.  I don’t have all of my books and music here but I have a lot of my favorites with me.  Unlike a lot of other people, I have a roof over my head, a warm bed to sleep in, plenty of clothes and cabinets filled with food.  In other words, I am richly blessed.

I have certainly been reminded that I need to work on my focus, not just in photography but in every area of my life.  I hope one day I can get to the point where I can say with the apostle Paul, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”  (Philippians 4:11)  That sure would be nice.

–Chuck

(The pictures shown above are the ones I took at John James Audubon State Park yesterday.)