I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. [Psalm 145:1-5]

While we appreciate many of the benefits of modern technology, one of the negative results of our technological progress is its capacity to isolate us from the natural world—our Savior’s creation.

Almost imperceptibly many of us have lost touch with the natural world around us, and as a result, we’ve lost a vital sensitivity that helps us understand and appreciate God and His creative power as David did in this psalm.

In addition, we’ve lost a much-needed source of healing for the human spirit.  “Take time to smell the flowers” is not idle advice. And as Francis Schaeffer reminded us, “the death of our joy in nature is leading to the death of nature itself.”  Experiencing and enjoying the outdoors is a key antidote for much of what ails us in these stressful times.

Finally, we are losing familiarity with the creation as a source of knowledge and inspiration that instructed the preachers and poets of old.

Consider these:

- Robert Burns who, touched by plowing up a mouse’s nest, exclaimed, “The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy!

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who, pondering depressions on a sandy beach, drew this analogy: “Lives of all great men remind us we can make our lives sublime and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.”

- Thomas Gray who, reflecting on the noble souls who dwell unheralded in country cottages, wants us to remember that, “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air.”

- Robert Frost who, comparing his life’s journey to a walk in the autumn forest, tells us that “two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

- William Cullen Bryant who, observing a lone waterfowl in flight, mused, “He who, from zone to zone / Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, / In the long way I must tread alone, / Will guide my steps aright.”

- Joaquin Miller, who, examining a tree, exulted, “Ten thousand leaves on every tree, / And each a miracle to me; / And yet there be men who question God!”

How long has it been since you have been inspired by God’s creation to see with the vision of a poet?  If it’s been more than a few months, you probably need a nature refresher.