The Sentinel: A Witness is Always Watching
Comfort soon arrives on a gentle breeze.
I press my feet upon the crisp brown and orange leaves as my worn, blue hiking boots step upon cracked and gnarled branches along the narrow, dirt trails. Trails surrounded by a glistening lake, vast blue skies, and towering, spotted trees with aged, and discolored trunks that bear witness to my journey. Trees that witnessed a mountain of stories, scenes, and conversations from their high perch.
As I bathe in the abundant earthy smells and sounds of chirping birds, my body exhales a large collective sigh. Blood pressure lowers, body releases its armor. I traverse the woods, foraging nature’s scents, sounds, and scenery for inspiration and soul nourishment. I liken the terrain to my life’s journey with its high and low peaks, smooth and jagged rocks, sudden twists and turns, and soggy and dry places. My feet and heart have traveled many miles over decades, pushing through to the next clearing, and I often wonder who is my witness? Who sees me?
At times my walks are light, joyous, emanating sighs of gratitude for my many blessings, noticing how the fragments and pieces of my life are forming a pattern and shape toward wholeness. Other times my hikes are painful and heavy when I’m carrying a bag of rocks — sadness, shame, anxiety — a brokenness like cracked branches. My tears wet the earth in hopes a sentinel will see and offer comfort.
Comfort soon arrives on a gentle breeze. I sense a hovering presence and release a few rocks. My seeing and hearing sharper. The texture of my breaths is more peaceful, my mind more serene. On rare moments I listen to lilting, gorgeous melodies that open me up to the sheer beauty around me, wrapping me in a chord that attunes me with nature’s rhythm.
That presence is God, the sentinel, who joins me on every walk as I commune and feast on God’s nature whose presence opens a space in my heart for healing, renewal, and awe. Sitting beside a big, ancient Southern Magnolia tree with its decaying once-glossy leaves, I am reminded to slow down, to let some things in my life die off to make room for new blooms. Nature speaks wisdom in the stillness.
Nature walks can inspire answers, solutions, clarity, and at times closure. My soul is often satiated by nature’s savory banquet of gifts. I leave the path feeling connected to the leaves, the branches, the lake, the trees, to the witness. God, always watching with care, moving around and through me, like a quiet breeze, providing nourishment for life’s journey.
Reflection Questions:
How would your lens on life shift if you knew there was a witness, someone watching you with loving eyes?
What might you discover on the path about the value of your precious life, your voice, and your stories? How does this insight change how you value others and their lives and stories?
What new practice can you begin to regularly restore and renew your soul?
