Our Connection To the Natural World

From early childhood, my time was often spent camping, hiking, skiing, and exploring, even if it was the garbage dump behind my childhood yard. Through years of participating in the Boy Scouts, family camping trips, multi-day backcountry backpacking trips, and moving to Alaska to experience more untouched wilderness, my love for the outdoors has only continued to grow over the years. When I am in a forest, on a mountain, on a lake, I am at peace. No thoughts are running through my head except gratitude and awe. This is how creation impacts me. I find myself completely amazed at sights around me, whether a rocky steep mountain top above me, glassy smooth water being struck by the morning rays of the sun, standing within a naturally formed cavity of a blue glacier, or feeling the crisp cool air when exiting the tent after a night's sleep deep in the wild. In these moments I am connected to my God and feel the truest sense of how humans were created to live, in perfect peace with the earth and others. My many memorable experiences around this earth have led me to a deep appreciation for the wild and pure earth. May you and I never lose this excitement, passion, and love for creation, and may it leave us in even more awe of our creator. Instagram