The great outdoors

The bible says that the heavens declare the glory of God.

It is interesting to note how the North American Indians believed in and worshipped a creator. It was a bit off, but they acknowledged a higher power.

There has been a noticeable and progressive change in our proximity to the earth and our belief in God.

The generations that lived off of the earth and worked the land had a clear faith in God. There were exceptions, mainly those locked up inside with books. Knowledge puffeth up after all.

As mankind began to develop our technological advances that marched us into the industrial revolution, we left the field for the factories. Mechanization led to productivity which led to prosperity. The more money I have, the less I need God.

At this stage of the game, much of our population would be dead if left to survive in the wild more than a few days. Face it, people die in Yellowstone every year because they can’t read a sign and obey a guard rail. We live insulated lives moving from houses to cars to office buildings and back again. Let our power go out or worse, our internet, and we are lost.

God still tries to remind us of His existence with eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and three feet worth of snow. Even then, we turn to ourselves and ask what we have done to bring about such global climate change.

Uncannily, those who spend time in nature still tend to hold a reverence for the Lord. I haven’t met many atheist farmers. When you see a red fox with a large bushy tail trotting across the fresh snow, it reminds you that Someone put her there.

One of the best things you can do to remind yourself of God is to go out in your backyard at dusk. Feel the cold air fill your lungs. Listen to the snow as it crunches under your feet. Watch the deer as they graze. Look at the moon as it shines brightly taking over for the sun that has shined all day. Look for Orion and the big dipper. Realize that hundreds of years ago, an Indian was was looking at the same stars. At least he had the sense to know that something bigger than himself existed.