Finding You in the Wild
By Charlotte Burlingame
This poem is about noticing the small things in life, and how God can be seen in the nature around us. I for one, love to go outside and simply be in nature. I wanted to highlight how most of us, me included, don’t stop to take in the world we live in and the hidden stories you can find in the simple things, like the sway of leaves in a light breeze, or the small spider that weaves its delicate web. If only we looked close enough.
In the thicket of trees and brush, I am held. A hush of green, as I stand alone on the damp earth beneath my feet. But I am not alone. Never. For I see You everywhere.
From the sliver of sunlight that brushes against my face to the warm zephyr that tickles the leaves high in the birch trees above me.
You are here. Above me, I catch the glips of a spider’s web, such a delicate structure, yet so strong and true, a true symbol of grace in the morning's soft dew.
I see You, a robin, a flash of darting red, wings beating, to a secluded nest high in the trees, with the unspoken promise of provision for her young.
I see You too, in the rain, as it pours down upon me, yet I find myself looking at the flowers. Their fragile stems wilt as the sky weeps upon them, their pretty petals turning dull as the world is cast in brooding clouds.
But I know that it will pass, as the sun will soon return, knowing, that their once frail stems will grow, their petals cast anew in hues of colorful vibrance in the radiating sun. And I too, find myself put through trials by You, yet I grow, just as the flowers do.
You, the rain, the sun, the web, the robin in flight. Everywhere. I stand here, in Your beautifully created world, and I am present. Just present.
