Nature and Nurture

The thing I miss the most now that I live in a flat is not having a garden.

I have been to a garden centre today and am currently sitting outside in a garden, and have realised afresh how much I miss having one of my own.

I love sitting out in the sunshine (on those rare occasions it makes an appearance), reading and relaxing. I love the peace and quiet. I enjoy the beautiful scents of different flowers, the bright colours and delicate shapes of different plants. I love the soft feeling of grass beneath my feet and the sound of the breeze rustling in the trees.

And I love the fresh air.

I love being outside and it always feels good for you, yet I never feel I spend enough time in nature, in the great outdoors.

And this seems to be a common feeling: we long to spend time outside and yet we never feel we spend enough time out of doors. We feel somehow disconnected from nature.

Rob Bell writes,

"We're disconnected from the earth. And we know it. Or at least we can feel it, even if we don't have words for it [...]

Many people live in air-conditioned houses and apartments. We alter our air with electric machines. We spend vast sums of money and energy to change our air. And we drive in air-conditioned cars - the 8 percent of us in the world who have cars - to air-conditioned schools and offices and stores with tile floors and fluorescent lights.

It's even possible to go days without spending any significant time outside. And it's still considered living. It's easy to go for weeks and maybe even years without ever actually plunging your hands onto soil. Into earth. Into dirt."

What is it about nature that draws us to itself?

I think it offers us a place of restoration and peace. Time slows down and we feel that we can breathe again and be ourselves again. In the clamouring busyness of life, it is good to stop and slow down. Nature gives us a feeling of freedom and space: out in the wild, we are no longer confined by office walls, or car doors or deadlines and time constraints.

Nature nurtures us.  It soothes our souls and refreshes our spirits.

It is a safe and spacious place where we can be restored:

"He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

[Psalm 18:19 NIV]

The Garden of Eden - whether we see it as a literal garden or a literary garden - tells of humanity's relationship with nature. It is a place of space and freedom, but it is also safe and secure and we have everything we need.

"The spacious, free life is from God, it's also protected and safe."

[Psalm 37:39 MSG]

We are living "east of Eden" in a world that is less than perfect, where we don't always feel safe and secure. Nature - and gardens in particular - remind us that we were made for more than office blocks and artificial lighting and air-conditioning. We were made for more than the fast-paced world of business. Gardens remind us to pause and reflect and remember that we were made for a free and spacious life.

For the time being, I am making do with my own small herb "garden" in my flat - a constant reminder to get out into creation and connect with our Creator.