Reflections on the Land
Each year the National Park Service sets up “free park days” when entrance fees to all national parks are waived. June 5th was the first one for this summer (which I missed because I was traveling for work. But the upcoming free admission days are August 14-15, September 25, and November 11. While the fee to national parks is one that I never mind paying since it helps to protect and maintain these beautiful places, the Park Service’s free admission days are special. They allow those cannot afford a trip to the park the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the beauty of God’s Creation.
As I prepare for the free parks days, I am excited for what this summer has to offer. Every summer, my husband and I set aside a week to go on what we call our “backpacking adventure.” Most people who do this go on very long and arduous hikes, and while we have been known to undergo some crazy pursuits, our “adventures” usually consist of a leisurely stroll that happens to involve a backpack, a tent and maybe a couple of mountains.
Our time in God’s Creation is our time for rejuvenation as individuals and a couple. It’s a time to connect with the land and the beauty that abound on God’s Earth. And it’s a time to connect with God, without the normal distractions of everyday life in Washington DC (we have yet to discover a Congressional member on our hikes!)
During these hikes we have encountered truly wild rivers that flow as God intended, bears feasting after a long winter, snow covered peaks even July, and the sheer beauty of a natural landscape that defines a particular part of Creation. As we share our lives with the trail, and the bugs that join us in our tent at night, God’s imminent presence creeps back into our lives in a way that we often overlook while on the metro, responding to email, or simply bustling about day to day. God’s land has a mysterious and powerful way of speaking to me and my faith.
The land and my time on it provide me with the tools to continue and thrive in my ministry. Our hikes remind me that the land experiences the seasons, that it changes with the advent of a new day and a new night and that the animals who live on this land depend on the cycles and seasons that are a vital part of God’s Creation. These creatures are dependent on the land and the natural changes that define a place and on the presence of land to be fruitful and multiply. 
It is as I think of this connection that I reflect on a passage from Leviticus.
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.
– Leviticus 25: 23-24
What is our role as children of God when it comes to the land? What does it mean to provide for “redemption of the land?”
These are the thoughts that creep into my mind as I walk in the woods and hike my way over and through God’s Earth. Many times in the Bible we see the role that wilderness and land play a role in the lives of numerous individuals. Jesus and Moses both retreat into the wilderness to contemplate and be with our Lord. Land and the peace that it provides ensure a time and place that we can connect with God.
As my husband and I prepare for this summer’s adventure (we are headed to Montana, the Big Sky state), I find myself reflecting on these questions before I even immerse myself in the beauty and solitude of the land. I wonder if I will always be able to find a peaceful place for adventure and immersion. Will there be places where my children and future generations can find peace and seek God? I believe it is vital that each of us find these places that provide us with peace and a connection to the Holy Spirit, but we are also called on to ensure these places can serve as retreats for future generations. I believe we can all hear and find God in the wilderness and the beauty of creation that surrounds us.
Click here for more information about free entrance days at our National Parks
Written by Tyler Edgar