Last week – almost a week to the day – I took a walk through some of the most beautiful land in the northwest at a place called The Lord’s Land in northern California. I was there for a leadership retreat and ventured out around 7 a.m. on a Thursday. Though we’d only been there about a day and half at that point, our group had come to realize that the area is often foggy – especially in the morning (and because we were on a mountain). I expected to encounter morning dew on the trees and plants, but the heavy fog amplified it to the point where I could actually hear the dew dripping from higher leaves to lower leaves to the plants. I often think in images and songs, and the first song to pop into my head as I marveled at this experience was “Like the Dew.” As I stood and walked and experienced the dew in 3-D, I developed a new understanding of the lyrics: “Like the dew in the morning, gently rest upon my heart.”
I’m a city girl, but I think I’m a nature girl at heart; so my spirit is always renewed when I’m able to spend time away in nature. If you’ve never had the chance, I encourage you to try it. You don’t have to fly halfway across the country, either. You can visit a small nature preserve, a forest preserve or a state/national park in your area. Depending on how comfortable you are with solitude, it may take some getting used to. In the meantime, here are a few pictures I took during my walk at The Lord’s Land to get you in the mood: