Upper Room: River of Life

River of Life

by Upper Room Administrator on Thursday, February 05, 2015

My first awareness of God's ministering to us through nature was when I was 5 years old.  I was seriously ill for several weeks and confined to bed far from my family.  One dreary winter day, a bright red bird flew to a bare bush outside my small window and lingered there.  As I delighted in looking at it, I suddenly realized that God was giving me a message of hope and love.

In the following years, my father and grandfather introduced me to the outdoor life of fishing, camping, and exploring.  I grew up loving to be outdoors as much as indoors.  Indoors had books and televisions, but outdoors had different fascinating things to offer: birdsongs, the sudden sighting of a deer, exquisitely colored sunsets.  Some things were so beautiful, so direct in their deep appeal that they took my breath away.

I believe that we have an inborn attraction to nature, imprinted on us with the Divine Hand who created boundless varieties of beauty in the earth and skies.  We see, we hear, we feel the deep connection to something far beyond ourselves.  God calls to us throughout creation.  How amazingly fortunate we are to live in an age where, for the first time in human history, we have access to technology that lets us see beyond what our eyes can discern.  We view photos showing the surprising loveliness of newly discovered, colorful creatures at the bottom of the seas, and the awe-inspiring variety of gorgeous formations in the galaxies.  God's wondrous creativity is continuous and boundless.  When we open ourselves up to a moment of connecting to God through the world of nature, we often experience feelings of gentle peace or joy, and sometimes we are flooded with a sense of longing and gratitude.  

My husband and I like to go for walks in the woods and fields.  The tranquil beauty there calms us, simplifies our thoughts and makes us more aware of God's presence.  In the same way, when we work with wood from the lovely cherry trees native to our region, we feel connected to God's own creations.  The wood displays beautiful graining and glowing flecks that surprise and delight us.  As we use our hands to shape and embellish it, we feel a quiet harmony with the One who caused it to grow.  

I often sit for long periods of time meditating as I design Christian artwork to intricately carve on the cherry-wood crosses and other items we make.  The designs have flowers, animals and related forms that combine our Christian faith with a love of nature.  They symbolize God's love for us and the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Some of our crosses have found their way to homes in our own country as well as Africa, France, China, and Jerusalem.  It's my hope that through these simple designs derived from nature, the crosses provide a ministry to others and convey a sense of our Lord's loving presence in their lives. 

- Judy Walton