…Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Matthew 24:42
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:32
Over the past several weeks, in the Orange Room at preschool, we’ve been exploring the season of Spring. We’ve been learning about bugs, their life cycles and the transformations they make through the different stages. We’ve talked about how even though bugs are small they have some really big jobs to do in our world. We’ve celebrated Earth Day and talked about how we can all be good stewards of our Earth by making small changes every day that can make a big impact in our world. We have started to explore all the different flowers we see in Spring…and the variety of colors and shapes. Each is unique. Last Monday as we read a book about Spring that touched on all these topics an idea came to me that instead of just reading about flowers in a book, we could go to the front of the church and see many beautiful flowers in our own garden.
So off we went for a quick look at the flowers. We started at the far end towards Edwards Street and found poppies and many other purple, red and yellow flowers. We smelled the different flowers and noticed similarities and differences in their leaves, colors and looks. We saw ladybugs and bees and even stopped to watch a lizard climbing on the stone wall. As we moved down Heil toward Goldenwest Street, we saw vibrant purple bushes full of bees and one child happily exclaimed, “We are helping the Earth by planting flowers that attract bees!”. We headed toward the courtyard and noticed more flowers and some litter that another child quickly picked up to take to a garbage can. As we were admiring the flowers, we heard birds which led us on a hunt through all the trees in the courtyard in search of a nest. Everything we had talked and read about became real and the kids in my class felt some ownership of, and pride in, the gardens and nature at their school.
Sometimes I feel that “God Moments” have to be the big, obvious, life-changing moments. What I’m coming to realize more and more, however, is that “God Moments” are all moments…small moments, quiet moments, afraid moments, excited moments, hard moments…because God is always with us waiting for us to be open and present in these moments. These small moments can also be big and life-changing in their impact. This simple walk was full of awe and wonder as the children explored and connected with God and each other. Not even the cars rushing down Heil distracted us. We were fully open. We were fully present in the moment.
This experience impacted my class in big ways as they requested to take the walk again every day last week. What a blessing Laird Park will be because we will be able to bring more of the natural world into the classroom – or the classroom out into the natural world. As we spend more time with screens and less time outdoors we are experiencing a disconnect with nature and that disconnect is collectively impacting our overall health and wellbeing in negative ways. Spending time in and with nature can help us heal. It is a blessing that we have places on our campus where we can connect with God’s natural world and experience “God Moments”.
Blessings,
Leyla Wagner
Dear loving God, we give thanks for all that you have given us, yet we are so easily distracted and take so much for granted, that we miss opportunities to connect with you and the world around us. Help us to keep our eyes and our hearts open to all moments, even and especially embracing those small moments, where we can see your work in our world and where we can help do your work in the world. Amen