{gratitude} nature

Monday, November 18, 2013

When I lived in Los Angeles, the chaos of a young life in the city would often get to me. I grew up in a place where the beautiful Rocky Mountains were visible from any place in the valley in which I lived. I grew so accustomed to them that my sense of direction was based off where they were, which one was "my mountain", and how far away I was from the temple that sat perched in the foothills of those immovable mountains.

So, living in a thriving city was invigorating, but after a while I would lose my inner sense of direction, not just for where I was, but also where I was going in life. I would get so tired of looking at buildings and cars and streets that I would drive to the edge of the city, down the 10 freeway until the city ended and melted into the Pacific Ocean. There, on the sandy beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu I would visit the ocean, standing at the foot of it's vast expanse and powerful waves, ruled by nothing but the tides and the hand of God. There the chaos of a busy and exciting life would melt away and be replaced with the peace of knowing the Creator's hand. Seeing His handiwork with the ocean would give the calm I was searching for.

I've been thinking about peace and nature in preparation for this week's piece of "Making Home a Haven" and am reminded about the parallels between nature and the temple. There is a reason the temples are called the Mountain of the Lord. I am grateful to have grown up in the outdoors and to be so familiar with many little haven's in the mountains of Utah. I am grateful for the peace I find in their familiar embrace. I am grateful for the hand of God in my life.

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