The Joys of Nature

by Peter Blount 27 August 2022

Welcome to ‘Sharing Our Faith Together’

It was last Tuesday, on one of my usual local walks, about 4 miles round trip. This one included the nearby fields (some of which are being destroyed by house building!! I’m told it’s called progress!). Anyway, moving on from there and pausing in part of the grounds to Radbourne Hall, public footpath I might add, I was taken by the whole scene. It began with a perfect blue sky, then trees of every size and shade, the meadows and hedgerows; and, the only sound to be heard was the singing of the birds.

Immediately, as I stood before a massive oak tree, I thought of the words from a song, an old song, which reads ‘I think as I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree’. It was written by an American poet Joyce Kilmer in February 1913 and was made famous by the singers Nelson Eddy and Paul Robeson. The tranquillity and almost silence was interrupted, or even enhanced, by the bells of Rabourne church clock ringing out 10 o’clock.

I guess in that perfect moment some would say I was totally alone. I would say I was surrounded by the presence of God and the beauty of His creation. So often, even in lockdown, we are just a bit preoccupied to fully grasp and appreciate the beauty that constantly engulfs our daily lives.

Find time just to pause and admire God’s handiwork, appreciate His perfection and give thanks for the experience.

So here is that song, enjoy! :-

Prayer

Thank you Lord for filling our lives with beauty and pleasure.

AMEN