Nature Enhances Our Enjoyment of Life, (Why every Christian should be a naturalist, #4)

Throughout the world, Covid-19 has led to orders to stay at home! Here in Ontario we’ve just finished a very severe lockdown. Aren’t we all tired of being shut-in? I must commend health experts for all they have done during this pandemic and for the speedy development of vaccines. But in one area at least they have failed to take into consideration human health—by failing to encourage us to get out into nature.

Every Christian should be a biblical naturalist because NATURE ENHANCES OUR ENJOYMENT OF LIFE. Every Christian who can should seek to regularly spend time in God’s great outdoors. We should also encourage our politicians to create more access to green space and woodlands.

In the last month or so the Globe and Mail has been featuring a series of articles on the importance of green space in cities, the value of the ravines in Toronto and the effect natural landscapes have on our brains. “City dwellers who live near green spaces are less depressed and anxious than those who don’t…82 per cent of Canadians say parks had become more important to their mental health during the pandemic…[immersion in nature boosts creativity] Hikers solved 50 per cent more puzzles than the control group…People who see trees, flowers and grass recover from surgery faster…They also do better in school and are generally happier…City dwellers [while generally healthier than rural dwellers except in mental health] are 20 per cent more likely to have anxiety and 40 per cent more likely to develop depression.” (“This is your Brain on Trees”, The Globe and Mail, April 17, 2021, p. A12,13)

Nature is a gift of God’s common grace for all people. Recognizing its value, people all over the world form hiking, bird-watching, and camping clubs. They frequent parks. There are 500 trails in NC and E. Tennessee alone. Canada is just completing a trans-Canada trail. In Ontario we have the storied Bruce Trail and the Waterfront Trail among hundreds of others.

Among all people, followers of Jesus should value and enjoy nature more than any. The mountains, the sky, the seas, the rivers, the forests, the fields, the birds, the animals, the wild flowers, and the moon are all gifts that reflect God’s creativity and love. “God gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17, NASV).

“O God, our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. Who formed the mountains by your power,…where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it, you enrich it abundantly” (Psalm65:5,6,8).

Why then do our health care providers and government leaders not see that every long-term care facility for our seniors must have a garden attached where those shut-in their rooms can escape for even a few minutes. Why do they not see the importance of saving old-growth forest? Why do they not encourage us to walk along the lake or hike into the woods?

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I for one, as strength allows, will be venturing out a to identify wild-flowers and photograph birds.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ––Photos are my own. )

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