Amazing.
The last time I visited these gentle giants with my sister, we heard a fantastic cracking noise. We stopped in our tracks, searching the woods while holding our breath! What was that? Did we need to run?! The Park Ranger strolling by said we were perfectly safe. We were far from the tree that was going to fall. In fact, it had been in the process of falling for years now. Years? Yes. It can take years for a redwood to fall to the earth, pouring forth its groanings as its axis begins to split apart.
The question comes to mind, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" This question makes me sigh. It is so human-centered ... as though we are the center of creation. John Muir, after whom these woods are named, said, "Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another." (Our National Parks, 1901) Muir consistently praised God for the wonder of nature, its wildness that heals us and keeps us ever amazed and mindful of our Creator. John Muir would not have asked the question about the tree and the sound it makes. He knew that nature sings its song to God in endless rhythms to give Him glory ... whether we hear it or not ... and it reminds us, these gentle giants remind us to sing along as we walk with Him in the NOW.
With these gentle giants let us sing, "My mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all the day long." -Psalm 71.8
So true about the nature of God and God's nature. We missed you olive picking, I was wise this year decided to make sure the "little" ones were done early on. We miss you and pray that God will see fit to give you a job! janina
ReplyDelete