Healing Refrains of Nature

Rachel Carson: “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.  There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready to the spring.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.  

The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for the scientists but are available to anyone who will place himself under the influence of earth, sea, and sky, and their amazing life.”

I have but one thought to add: this earth and all life were created by a wise and loving Heavenly Father for the benefit and schooling of his children.  All nature reminds us he is near.

"And behold, all things have their likeness and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me." (Moses 6:63)

Candle Against the Wind

“Help me, please, to carry this candle against the wind,” is Wendell Berry’s prayer in his 1969 poem, Shenandoah.   Light dispels darkness but in this world where it is common to  “. . . call evil good, and good evil” and “put darkness for light, and light for darkness . . .” (Isaiah 5:20), I sometimes feel like one struggling to carry a candle against the wind.  There are forces of darkness actively working to deprive this great nation, the United States of America, of its divinely inspired constitution, and its citizens of their God-given liberty.  In the whirlwind of information, truth is often obscured and dark deeds hidden from view.  Those who speak out in defense of God and his commandments are vilified.  Half-truths and twisted truths are used to mislead multitudes carefully way from the source of light and truth.  Alarming.  Terrifying.

Yet, always I am drawn back to the source of truth and am made more sure in my commitment to stay on the side of Our Father in Heaven and his son, our Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  “Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.”  (L.D.S. Doctrine and Covenants 101:16.)

Guide Us, O, Thou Great Jehovah

“Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah . . . 


I am weak, but Thou art able;  
Hold us with Thy powerful hand.”  


This hymn has been running through my head lately.  The lyrics are a modified version of a hymn written in the 1700’s by a Welsh preacher, William Williams.  The words and music keep replaying in my head lately until I finally became aware enough of them to wonder why this particular hymn is stuck there.  Then the epiphany:  I have am surrounded by loved ones who are struggling with the supreme trials of their lives and who have been for some time.  It is my deep desire to share in the carrying of these burdens and thus lighten their loads but it seems I am worn thin and weary and my efforts have done little to help those I yearn to help.  I have been praying almost non-stop for direction as to what to say, what to do, how to be of real help.

Answers to prayers come in many ways.  The beginning of the answer to my most desperate prayers is contained in this hymn being sung in my mind.  “I am weak, but Thou are able.”   I have been trying to do all I can, and being weighed-down when all I can do is not enough. I, alone, can neither lift the burdens of others nor give them strength to carry them. There is much of mundane tasks that need doing that I can do, but where hearts need to be healed, I can trust in the love and wisdom of Our Father.  Our Father in Heaven, who knows and understands us intimately, can heal the hearts of his children and fill them with hope and perspective.   They are truly in his powerful hands.

Ezra Taft Benson explained: “I know the Lord lives.  I know that He loves us.  I know that apart from Him no one can succeed, but as a partner with Him, no one can fail.  I know that God can make a lot more out of our lives than we can.”

Swimming Upstream

We stopped at Bonneville Dam, one of several dams that span the Columbia River on our way home from our coast trip.  The dam is an obstacle to fish driven by instinct to swim upstream to spawn so man has built fish ladders to give the fish a way around the dam.  Underwater viewing windows provided us a unique look at the tough journey.   The salmon run is largely over but I saw large steelhead trout and a huge sturgeon fighting their way up.  The ladder is a series of narrow steps which cause a fast-moving “waterfall” at the side of the dam.  The weary and weakened fish (most species don’t eat during the journey) face an arduous uphill journey against a strong downhill current.

As I watched the fish struggle against the current, I empathized with them.  Life as a human is also an uphill battle and in my experience, it gets harder as we go.  I have often pondered how life unfolds and why it only gets harder.   I have learned that, in his mercy,  Heavenly Father brings us step by step to a higher place- closer to and more like Him.   Once we have faced and survived a crisis or difficult condition, we are wiser and stronger leaving us more able to face the next more difficult situation.   Aging leaves me physically weaker but spiritually, mentally and emotionally stronger and with more of an eternal perspective.   Things that hit hard and knocked me down as a youth don’t phase me any longer, not because the nature of the challenge has changed but because I have changed (and hopefully for the better.)  I am still on the upward climb and, mercifully, the rocks and crevasses ahead are not within view.  I don't know what is ahead but I expect it to be harder than what lays behind.  This is as it should be and I am not dismayed but pray only for strength to finish.  As Paul believed, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  (Romans 8:18)

Mortal life is a great school, a training ground where we learn through our own experience as well as through observing the experiences of others, and we work through it as from elementary school to high school to the university, all the while building on the foundation that was provided in the previous days.   If in the deepest desires of our hearts we seek to know God and return to his presence, our experiences will teach us the path.    “I the Lord search he heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”  (Jeremiah 17:10)    Life is a growing, learning, refining experience where as we learn of and submit to the ways of God, our rough edges are polished and through the refiner’s fire the dross is in us is separated and removed.  “The fining pot is for silver, and furnace or gold: but the Lord tried the hearts.”  (Proverbs 17:3)  There is Godly help for all that befalls us in life, even the daily task of swimming upstream and when we finish this life, we will have been shaped and refined us to reveal our true nature and capacity.  

“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver;  I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”  (Isaiah 48:10)

Through the Eyes of a Child

I love the ocean, or more specifically, the very northern California and the Oregon coast.  I love walking in the redwood trees.  I love encountering wildlife and especially have a fondness for birds.  I wonder about the different kinds of trees, berries and wildflowers and enjoy learning about things such as what differentiates pines from spruces, firs or cedars or seals from sea lions.  The only thing better than visiting my favorite spots is visiting them with someone who is seeing them for the first time.  There is no way to explain to another person what it is like to walk in the stillness of a redwood grove, to poke around in a tide pool or watch the surf crash over the rocks.   My joy doubles when sharing these marvelous places with someone else. 

I just returned from a trip to the coast and one of the highlights was introducing these natural wonders to two young grand daughters who were seeing the ocean and the redwoods for the first time.  Their delight was unbounded and it brought me deep contentment to see them enjoying the things that I love.  I have a small electronic player that pictures birds and plays their calls when the corresponding button is pushed.  The little three-year-old played with it over and over; again it warmed my heart to see her finding joy in things that bring me joy.  It is good to take a child if you need to see familiar things through new eyes.   Some of the wonder that is lost over time is restored when sharing life with a child.

Children require constant vigilance and can leave their caring adults exhausted and frazzled BUT they most certainly bring sunshine into our lives.  We provided many activities to keep them occupied during the long drive in the car but one of the most fun activities was created by the six-year-old.  She got out her notebook and pencil, wrote the names of everyone in the car and numbers from one to five under each name.  Then she seriously asked each parent and grandparent, in turn, what they want to be when they grow up.  Then she asked her little sister who answered: “a banana slug.”  The bright yellow oversize slime machines are common in the redwood forests and their “cute” little heads with retractable antennae fascinated her.

Truly, the world is a richer place when shared  with a child.