The Peace of Wild Things
Have you ever woken in the night overwhelmed by worry, only to feel a sudden peace in an unexpected place? Wendell Berry captures this in his poem:
When despair for the world grows in me
And I wake in the night at the least sound…
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Beside still waters or beneath a quiet forest canopy, I’ve found glimmers of heaven—moments when God’s tranquility interrupts my anxieties.
The Kingdom in Small Beginnings
In Matthew 13, Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven as a mustard seed and as yeast mixed into dough. Both begin so small they go unnoticed, yet they grow beyond expectation.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… though it is the smallest of all seeds, when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs.” (Matthew 13:31–32)
These parables remind us that God’s work in our lives often unfolds quietly, hidden beneath the surface, yet powerful enough to shelter and sustain.
Refined by Life’s Challenges
When my father died of cancer, my faith was tested by grief and anger. I found solace walking along the shoreline or beneath ancient oaks, feeling God’s presence in the wild things. As seasons passed, I realized my faith had been refined by that fire—stronger, more precious, and filled with new hope.
Just as the mustard seed becomes a sheltering tree and yeast transforms dough into bread, our trials provide the soil and heat in which God grows our trust.
Living in the Kingdom Today
The kingdom of heaven isn’t reserved for some distant future—it intersects our everyday: in baking, farming, fishing…and in our moments of sorrow and joy. Even when we cannot see the growth, God’s promises are at work beneath the surface.
Let us lean into His unseen yet transformative power, trusting that He who began a good work in us will carry it to completion.