Lately I have been craving Wide Open Spaces, as the Dixie Chicks say. Since the Great Plains are more than a day's drive away, I went to the prairie at the Morten Arboretum. This local prairie has a mystical quality to it. While it is imbedded in the hubbub of the western suburbs, not far from the highway, you can still get lost in it's quiet. I think that is what I was craving - expansive quiet.
I also wanted to see for myself the new life that is growing there after a recent burn. The prairie is burned each year to replicate the burns that happen naturally on the prairie. These are important because they actually help the prairie thrive. It seems counterintuitive to us, as does so much of the natural world.
My friend, Cindy, works at the Arboretum and in her blog, Tuesdays in the Tallgrass, wrote a post about the burn and then added pictures not too long ago of the new life poking through the charred earth. I felt a bit like Thomas after hearing the stories of Jesus resurrected - not dead anymore - saying, "I want to see for myself." I felt drawn to see for myself the blackened earth and the vibrant green of Cindy's pictures.
I also wanted to see for myself the new life that is growing there after a recent burn. The prairie is burned each year to replicate the burns that happen naturally on the prairie. These are important because they actually help the prairie thrive. It seems counterintuitive to us, as does so much of the natural world.
My friend, Cindy, works at the Arboretum and in her blog, Tuesdays in the Tallgrass, wrote a post about the burn and then added pictures not too long ago of the new life poking through the charred earth. I felt a bit like Thomas after hearing the stories of Jesus resurrected - not dead anymore - saying, "I want to see for myself." I felt drawn to see for myself the blackened earth and the vibrant green of Cindy's pictures.
Being surrounded by the sounds of the prairie, the beautiful combination of quiet and bird songs, renewed something in me. It was what I needed: the sun, the wind, the birds, the dark ground and the abundance of new life everywhere. I saw it for myself. Like Thomas, I didn't really doubt my friend's testimony, I just wanted to be in the presence of the mystery. I needed to be reminded that God brings new life.
Hopefully this summer I will make it west to stand in the Great Plains. For now, I carry the sounds and the quiet with me - and the promise of life.
~ Pam
Hopefully this summer I will make it west to stand in the Great Plains. For now, I carry the sounds and the quiet with me - and the promise of life.
~ Pam
