As we begin this time within nature,
Try and take each moment with the sounds,
The sense,
And the sights of nature around you.
Maybe you pay attention to the greenery,
To the changing of colors from one season to the next.
Maybe you pause for a moment and touch the bark of a passing tree or grab a flower to hold onto as you make your leisurely walk through the forest.
Find your own pace as you take in your surroundings.
Maybe you hear the chirping of the crickets or the chatter of the birds conversing with one another.
When God created Earth,
There were seven days of creation.
Day one,
Let there be light,
And there was light.
The light was good,
And it separated day from night.
Take a moment to take in the light as it weaves through the trees and as it fuels the Earth with energy.
The light creates a beautiful imagery as we absorb the colors of the leaves,
Of the flowers blooming,
Of the greenery blossoming around us everywhere we look.
The second day,
Sky in the middle of the water separate water from water.
When you are ready,
Peer into the sky blue and see the clouds white as heavens that made the Earth separate from the water.
Listen to the water as it trickles through the stream.
On the third day,
God commands,
Allow the ground to appear and the dry ground shall be called land and the waters shall be called seas.
Find a moment to feel the dry Earth underneath your palms.
Feel the texture of the Earth as its coarseness runs across your fingers.
God said,
Earth,
Green up,
Grow varieties of seed bearing plants and every sort of fruit bearing tree.
Each and every one of these beautiful trees,
Plants,
Roots were tiny little seeds at one point grew.
Throughout the years,
These little seeds implanted themselves as God commanded and greened up to create the beautiful forest that it has become.
Do you see the old trees?
Do you see the beautiful baby blossoms that are growing out of the Earth filled surroundings?
The fourth day,
Lights come out and separate the day from night and serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.
God made the sun and the moon and the stars to oversee the goodness of Earth.
What do you feel in the air?
Do you feel the breeze of fall crisp and cool saying its final goodbyes to the summer and bringing in the cool transition into winter?
Do you see or feel the trees swaying through the wind?
What noises are being carried throughout the sways of the Earth?
Can you feel the travels of the wind from miles away drifting through the steady breeze?
On the fifth day,
God speaks to creation.
Swarm ocean with fish and all sea life.
Birds fly through the sky over Earth.
God blessed all ocean life and all species of bird.
Prosper,
Reproduce,
Fill the ocean,
Fill the skies.
Do you hear the birds?
Do you hear their joy as they live out the blessings from generations ago that God bestowed upon them?
For he didn't just bless the creations from day five,
But he blessed every creature in every generation to follow.
Can you hear the rumbling of his blessing tremble in the Earth and nature while creatures alike praise him in the amazing sounds of their bliss?
The sixth day,
Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds,
Livestock,
Wild animals,
Creatures that move along the ground.
God saw that it was good.
Let us make mankind in our image,
In our likeness,
So that they may rule over the fish in the sea and birds in the sky,
Over the livestock,
All the wild animals,
And all the creatures.
He created mankind,
Male and female,
And blessed them,
Saying,
Be fruitful and increase in number,
Fulfill the Earth,
And rule over the fish in the sea,
The birds in the sky,
And all living creatures on the ground.
I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole Earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They will be yours for food,
And everything that has the breath of life in it,
I give every green plant for food.
God created man out of the Earth and blew in his nostrils the breath of life.
Every breath that you take is full of God's goodness.
Take a few moments to breathe in the Earth rich air around you.
Imagine every breath that you take in through your nose is the breath of God bringing you life through this very Earth that you inhabit.
Every exhale,
Let go and surrender your Earth-made body.
With each inhale,
Breathe in the beautiful scent of Earth,
And with each exhale,
Let go of all the resistance of embracing God's good Earth.
God saw all that he made,
And it was very good.
And there was evening,
And there was morning.
Thus,
The heavens and the Earth were completed in their vast array.
By the seventh day,
God had finished the work he had been doing.
So on the seventh day,
He rested from all his work.
Thus,
The seventh day was made holy and became Sabbath because our Lord rested,
Not because he had to,
But because he was to be an example for all mankind.
Rest in the Earth,
Rest in the sounds of all God's creation,
Rest in him.
Rest in his arms,
Rest in his deliverance.
If anything,
There is nature.
Everything created in him and for him,
Through him,
So that we might have proof that he is good.
