1 August

Dear Friends

Have you ever thought about nature as a living classroom, ready to teach us something at every opportunity? In his book The Man Who Talks with the Flowers, the celebrated agricultural scientist George Washington Carver says it beautifully: 

“I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations through which God speaks to us every day, every hour… 

How do I talk to a little flower? Through it I talk to the Infinite. And what is the Infinite? It is that silent, small voice … that still, small voice.” 

An unlimited broadcasting station of God’s glory – isn’t that beautiful? John Calvin similarly said that the whole of creation is the “theatre of God’s glory”. 

Over the last three weeks of our holiday, we were immersed in the classroom of creation as we slowly explored the northern part of the Kruger National Park. While Adi and Esbé were still asleep, I would get up, slowly pour coffee into my flask and then set out to explore the park as soon as the camp gates opened at 6 a.m. My teachers, with their broadcasting messages, were waiting for me: the disciplinary committee of wildebeest chasing the dissident males who overstepped territorial boundaries; two black-backed jackals hiding in the thick Mopani bush, with only their pointy ears popping out; the African Scops Owl (about the size of my coffee mug) finding a comfortable spot to snuggle up in after the evening hunt; a Burchell’s coucal hopping about in the streams looking for insects; and the many elephants stubbornly blocking my way as I rushed back to camp for breakfast. Each one of them had a unique lesson for each day, but the theme of their overarching syllabus was clear: slow down and notice. Take time to appreciate the small beauties, because you might just find God there.

For St Francis, nature was not something to be controlled or manipulated, but a “magnificent book” through which God speaks to us. To contemplate even a simple flower is an invitation to discover something of who God is. When we make space in our lives for nature, we step away from the distractions of this world and create space to hear God speaking to us. Following the syllabus of creation in the classroom of nature was easy, but now comes the exam: finding God’s still, small voice in our beautiful, bustling city.

I am looking forward to being back in church and reconnecting over the next few days. 

Blessings for your week.

Marius