More From Jill Allen Maisch

Katie, our daughter whom I wrote about in today’s meditation, was the clearly the “St. Frances” in our family. I tried to raise all three of my kids, though, with an appreciation of God’s creation and a love the outdoors. Our walks along the half-mile path circling a small lake near our home often took hours. In the summer, the kids insisted that we rescue earthworms that had slithered onto the path after a rainstorm. Occasionally we would come across a box turtle, and we always took the time to put it back into the woods. During each walk, the kids had to stop and play a couple rounds of “Poohsticks” at the bridge that crossed over a bubbling creek. Sometimes we took off our shoes and went on a creek-walk in the cool water to turn over rocks looking for crayfish and other aquatic creatures. In the fall we enjoyed collecting and observing the different shapes and colors of leaves on the ground. Fallen acorns wearing their cute little brown berets were fun to take home so we could draw faces on them. During the winter we looked for and tried to identify the footprints of local wildlife in the snow. And each spring we enjoyed watching a familiar pair of Canada geese, which we named Bobby and Bernice, build their annual nest on a small island.

All three of my kids are now grown with families of their own. I’m happy to say that our grandsons are being raised with a love of the outdoors. Going on family hikes is a favorite activity, and we never ever rush. There’s always a lot of God’s wonderful creation for us to stop to observe and appreciate along the way. In fact, this evening as soon as I hit “send” on this blog, I’m heading outside with my two dogs and a cup of tea to sit and quietly bask in the beautiful sounds of nature at sunset. Why don’t you grab a cup of tea and head outside, too?