Walking On the Road to Emmaus

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. (Luke 24:13-15)

I have been thinking about this little story in Luke about two disciples walking along the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem. The complete story is found in Luke 24:13-35.

The Bible Dictionary says this:

A village 60 furlongs, or about 5 miles from Jerusalem; generally identified with the modern Kulonieh, on the road to Joppa.

There is a lot to be said about this wonderful story. Imagine having the Lord Jesus Christ appear to you and walk along with you and expound on the scriptures to you. Five miles isn't a long way, but if you are walking, it would take awhile and you would have time for a wonderful conversation with the Lord. Even if you didn't know until later that it was the Lord, as these two did not, it would still be an intriguing conversation.

Walking is often used as a metaphor for traveling through life and for living life in accordance with the Lord's commandments. Or, conversely, for walking in darkness, i.e., not in the ways of the Lord.

What I am thinking about this morning, however, is literal walking. Walking by yourself opens up opportunities for thinking about all sorts of things and also for prayer. Whether you are walking for exercise or to get somewhere, you have this quiet time in your mind and heart which can lead you to insights or to communion with God.

If you are walking with a friend, you have a chance to really talk things over. This is what struck me about the story of the road to Emmaus--that these two disciples (and later, Jesus) had the time and opportunity for an in-depth discussion of the gospel and of recent events in Jerusalem.

I think we miss out on a lot when we don't have this kind of time and opportunity to think, to pray, or to talk with a companion. There are a lot of blessings for us living in this modern age, but whenever I read of the road to Emmaus, I think that one blessing we miss out on unless we make the effort to create it, is to walk along, alone or with someone, with plenty of time to concentrate on something. It can be working out a problem, contemplating nature, prayer, meditating on some aspect of the gospel, or whatever we might want/need to focus on for awhile.

In ages past, people often traveled by foot, but now, it's often a matter of driving to a park (during the daytime, when you have a hope of it being safe) or, if you are blessed to live in the country, of walking around your property or down the road a ways. Even if your choice is to go to a track at the gym, you can usually be alone with your thoughts for awhile at least, although I have to say that I think being out in nature helps this process along.

It just seems like a chance to unwind, give serious thought to things, and let go of the stress of the modern world for a little while. May you find a quiet place to walk.

Mid-Summer

A few days ago, we surpassed our normal yearly average rainfall--but it's only mid-July! There have been flooding problems and yet we desparately needed to get our lakes and rivers and the water table replenished. Things don't always happen evenly, but we find that we can cope with whatever happens.

It is so green here now and the flowers are blooming like crazy. People have trouble keeping up with the mowing and the weeding these days. One of my favorite things to see is a group of little house wrens bathing in a small puddle. First, I see water shooting up into the air. Then, as I get closer, I see the little birds splashing with their wings. After their bath, they hop up out of the puddle and fluff themselves up to dry. Very cute. It always makes me smile.

Today it isn't raining and the sun is out. The air this morning didn't feel as heavy with humidity as it has been. It felt almost cool in the light breeze, but, being July, it is now feeling warm and humid again. I run the air conditioner more to get the humidity out of the apartment than because it's particularly hot.

Nature always makes me think of our Heavenly Father and what a lovely world He created for us to live on. We take it for granted usually, but when we stop to think about this gift, among many other gifts, we can feel very loved and appreciated.

Enjoying Nature

Thirty years ago, the Ensign published an article called "Discovering Nature" By Sharon Dequer
in the June 1977 issue. One thing she says is:

Think of the attitudes parents convey to children in such experiences, not necessarily attitudes about thunderstorms or snakes, but about life and the joy of living! Spiritual experiences can’t be staged, but one fruitful avenue that involves our children and ourselves in inspiring experiences is to explore—fully and enthusiastically—God’s creations. In the course of growing up we tend to acquire a worldly sophistication that dampens this enthusiastic sense of wonder about nearly everything. Cultivating wonder about nature heightens our appreciation of all creation and begins to break down our artificial distinction between things temporal and spiritual. (See D&C 29:34–35.)

Sister Dequer offers some suggestions for exploring nature:

A good way to begin discovering nature is by becoming more “sense-able.”

Teach your eyes, for example, to see, not just to look. Become alert for movement, large and small, in the grass, in the sky, at the borders of your vision. Look for colors that differ from their surroundings and for subtle changes and mixtures of hue. (There must be a hundred shades of green or brown in any summery scene). Look for shapes that seemingly don’t belong—a bird-shape or pine cone amid the fine branchlets of a tree.

Carry a small mirror with a hole at one edge on your adventure walks. Use it to get a worm’s eye view of the underside of a mushroom or the inside of a hollow tree. Put a long stick into the mirror hole and reach up for a bird’s eye view of a nest and its contents.

At night, hold a flashlight in front of your nose and scan with the beam; you’ll catch the gleam of reflected eyeshine in grass, bushes, gravel—anywhere. Possibly hundreds of creatures are looking at you: moths, beetles, spiders, frogs, mice, cats, raccoons—each with its own sparkly or glowing eyeshine color, like jewels in the night.

Then turn out the light. Although in that narrow beam you can see clearly, without it your eyes will quickly become dark-adapted, and you will see vastly more.

Concentrate on smells. Sample the breeze. Then take your nose up close and sniff the bark of trees. Different species often have characteristic odors (vanilla, cinnamon, or just pungent, sweet, indescribable). Unlock the distinctive qualities of leaves by crushing one, or (better for the plant) by rubbing it firmly between your fingers.

Experiment with taste and touch. Close your eyes and let someone put an object in your hands. What shape is it? What size and texture? Is it wet, dry, smooth, sticky, rough, furry, brittle, flexible, heavy, light? Smell it; brush it against your cheek. You might not know what it is, but could you find it again amid a number of other, possibly similar objects? Making a more complex game of it, could someone else identify your object from just your description?

Feeling the shapes of plant stems may bring you some surprises. Although most are round, some are square (the mints), and others, found in damp places, are triangular (sedges have edges).

Her suggestions can bring you to an appreciation of nature without turning it into "dully labeling countless plants and animals and reciting collections of detailed bits of lore". Not that a more scientific approach is dull to some of us! Nevertheless, it is good to sometimes just enjoy what's out there as it is.

This kind of exploring nature can be done anywhere--in a backyard, a park, a small flowerbed, or a tree. You can go out at night and look at the moon and stars. You can observe pets and, yes, even household pests (before disposing of them in whatever way suits your sensibilities)!

In your exploring, you will feed your spiritual self in surprising ways. Also, see my posts here at Scholar and here at Writing Blog, my other blogs, for more information on this topic.

Nature

A few minutes ago, NBC Nightly News showed the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC, near the tidal pool (or basin). The blossoms were beautiful. A few weeks ago, I got to work (our new office is surrounded by trees) and all the Bradford pear trees were in full bloom. Beautiful! Even after the blossoms began to blow off the trees in our Oklahoma wind, the parking lot was awash with white petals and that was a pleasant experience, too.

Just this morning, after sunrise, but still early, I was out and about and the most beautiful cloud formations were gathered in the eastern sky with sunbeams shining through here and there. And I have seen countless sunrises and sunsets which are breathtaking in their beauty--the formations of clouds, the colors varying from deep purple through peach and apricot and pink to bright orange. I have watched the sky, when there were no clouds, changing from black to green to blue as the sun neared its rising.

All these things make me think of our Heavenly Father. I greatly appreciate the blessing He gave us of a beautiful world to live in. It lifts the spirit and enlivens the mind. It brings a smile, and sometimes joyful laughter. Other times, it brings a quiet peaceful feeling.

There are so many things to enjoy. Even in photographs and paintings, one sees the beauty in nature. Seeing the beauty in person, however, seems to go deeper into one's soul.

I grew up in the country. We saw deer in the yard, cottontail rabbits and jackrabbits, ducks, geese, bluebirds, bluejays, and cardinals. There were wild turkeys and quail. Fish in ponds and streams and lakes. Grass and flowers and trees add beauty, too. Then there are rock formations and patches of sand blown into lovely designs by the wind. At night, there was a sky full of stars and planets and the moon. There were thunderstorms putting on a light show. There were mornings of waking to frost or even ice covering everything and sparkling like diamonds when the sun rose. In summers bees and butterflies and dragonflies and lightning bugs added their touches of color and light to the scenery.

I live in the city now. I still find nature around, though not as fully. The redbuds bloom in the spring as well as the Bradford pear trees. There are flowers of all kinds and birds, too. Until recently, we had geese in the field just north of our office. It's not uncommon to see ducks and geese walking along the streets as I pass near a small lake on the way to church. Redbreasted robins have been flying about, gathering nesting material. The year-round pigeons are often of lovely colors, some with irridesent greens and purples to complement their delicate gray and white feathers.

We can see nature in our pets--our cats and dogs and guinea pigs and hamsters. Beautiful fish glowing in aquariums. We can go to the zoo and enjoy more exotic animals. One of my favorite memories is petting a giraffe. The baby animals are so cute and lively.

I find that even the memories of natural things I have seen can lift my spirits. I remember the snowcapped mountains in Arizona and the rock formations in New Mexico. I think of a boat ride on Lake Michigan. I remember family fishing trips to rivers and lakes and the enjoyment of those times.

I am so grateful to a Heavenly Father who cared to give us beauty and joy and fun in this world.