stress relief

 The following two pictures were taken as I was lying on my back on a blanket gazing up into the sky...talk about a stress reliever!

I could not wait to leave work today.  I had it in my mind that I was taking my son to "explore", as he likes to call it,  and take advantage of the beautiful weather.  And we did just that!


It was so relaxing to be in the middle of the woods playing in a creek while listening to the water trickle down over the rocks.  As I laid there on my back with my eyes closed, (while JP was eating his picnic dinner...I promise I didn't close them while he was playing in the water),  I began to thank God for His creation.  It is all around us and yet we take it for granted so often.  Or at least I do. 


It's ironic if you think about it.  As a society we go to such extreme measures to relieve our stress.  We take pills, we go to specialists, we read books, we do yoga, and so on.  I am not saying that there is anything wrong with those practices.  I've done them!  What I am telling you is that I cannot imagine anything working better (for me anyway) than sitting down in the middle of nature, closing your eyes and breathing in God's beauty.  It was very therapeutic. 


So thank you, God, for the opportunity you allowed me this afternoon to appreciate your gifts. 

"He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.'"  Psalm 46:10