A small sparrow flies through the woods where you sit watching and waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, the wind gently blows a leaf past your face, then a squirrel begins chattering loudly, not ten feet away from you. You pause in anticipation, until an oriole begins to sing, then a whippoorwill chimes his bell-like voice into the air, and suddenly, in your very presence there is a great Symphony of Nature, conducted for you to enjoy.

All my life I have loved nature. As a small child I wandered through the woods at friends’ houses, sat quietly by lakes and even marveled at the beauty of my own back yard in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It wasn’t until years later, however, that I really became aware of the true beauty of nature. That was when I heard the first symphony on my own wooded land in Florida. Ever since that day, God has been reminding me constantly of the beauty of His creation, which not only shows to us His amazing power and imagination, but also His very own Beauty and love for His children. Everywhere I look I can find evidence of His love for me. But last summer, He revealed this to me in a simpler way, the way I needed to hear it so that I might fully appreciate His Symphonies of Nature.

One night after service in the tabernacle, I had a little girl ask me how she could know that God exists. I had to think a while about that question, staring out at the sunset behind the fields of Camp Maranatha. For a long moment, I asked myself that question, then a bright ray of light struck something in the woods, and I knew what to tell her. “Do you like trees?” I asked her. Her dark head nodded in admission. “Do you see those trees?” I pointed to the little thicket where the sun’s rays were striking the flat stone.

“Yes, of course I see them,” she said, looking at me as though I were crazy.

“There’s your proof,” I said to the little eleven-year-old.

That little girl looked at me for a long moment, not knowing what to say to me about it. She stared for a long moment, then with a smile on her face, she said, “And the sunsets, too?”

I smiled and nodded at her. “And the lake, and the breezes, and the sand at the beach.”

“And the birds and the deer?”

“And the fog and the mountains and the flowers,” I assured her.

The little girl looked up at me with a light smile on her pretty face. “Thank you, Miss Rita,” she said, then she bowed her head to pray. “Thank you for nature,” she said simply. “And thank you for loving me.”

Her simple prayer inspired me to take a closer look at nature, and what I found is a spectacular view into the very love of God for all of His children, especially those who choose to see Him there.

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