Into the Outdoors

It was a perfect day today for a bike ride, so we loaded up our bikes and did our favorite ride from Loveland to Morrow and back. The air was cool, and held the scent of burning leaves. The trail was marked by fallen twigs and leaves, really too soon for fall but the dry weather probably has stressed the trees plenty this summer. Chipmunks and squirrels crisscrossed the trail in front of us, crows cawed and flew above our heads. If you opened your mouth, you swallowed gnats, great swarms of them that clung to our clothes as we rode through. The woods are serene, peaceful...the nearby river still and green. There is no hurry here, no urgency to finish something, no regret or fear or worry. The tall trees stand where they have stood for many years, the river flows past ancient rocks as always. There is a trust here, standing strong though time. We ride by and feel the steadfast energy of God's creation, life as it should be, circular and beautiful. We are dwarfed by it's majesty, yet lifted to it's heights at the same time. We connect to something we need in our daily routine, that constancy of God, that plants us, sustains us, and holds us, and makes our lives circular and beautiful.