Sandy Mayle discovers that nature has always been extending an invitation from God, but it wasn't until she found Jesus that she could truly accept it. Now every step outdoors becomes a chance to meet Him there.
This article originally appeared in the Just Between Us Weekly Digital Magazine.
By Sandy Mayle
Beyond our back field lies about eight acres of woods, where a trail circles through towering tulip poplars and overgrown dogwoods and aging maples. Over the years I have often prayerwalked there, making circles of surrender or grief or gratitude. And in the walking, these woods have become a sanctuary for me—a place to meet God, a holy place.
Within those back woods grows a unique old maple. Three large trunks rise from its base, and off one of those a single branch dips low to the ground in an invitation to sit a while.
I dubbed that maple the “Trinitree” because it’s a visual of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It’s also a symbol of the invitation this Three-in-One God always extends to me to draw near to Himself. To bring my concerns to Him. To take pleasure in His beauty and draw strength from His size as I rest on Him and lean into His solid sureness.
Jesus First
From childhood I have often wandered outdoors to indulge curiosity, work out problems, blow off steam, or fill lonely hours. When as a teen I lived in disconnect from God, nature became to me like young David playing his harp for the troubled King Saul (1 Sam. 16:23). The outdoors soothed the turmoil in me, but there was still something missing, something beyond my grasp. A sense of isolation persisted.
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