My favorite Bible verse is Wisdom 13:5,

“For through the greatness and beauty of created things, their original author, by analogy, is seen.”

In other words, when we see something beautiful, we have the opportunity to see the Lord and connect with Him through all His amazing creativity. Creation is an icon of God’s grace, drawing us into encounter and communion with Him, if we allow ourselves to be led there. 

Making a pilgrimage to the sacramental that is Creation can be a healing experience to those of us suffering through crosses of loss, infertility, physical sickness, or emotional burdens.

The Lord often speaks to me through Creation. He knows that I love it. He delights in my delight in the things that He has created for us to behold. This becomes a moment of connection with Him, drawing me towards His creative Heart. I love to watch storm clouds bubble up, looking like white caramel corn as they reach towards the heavens, or wisps of cirrus clouds like brush strokes across the skies. I love to sit and watch the wind blow through the trees, like a whisper of conversation from my Beloved to me. I love seeing the wildflowers spring up and watching the fields become a canvas of color. Jesus himself, in Matthew 6:28, invites us to “learn from the way the wildflowers grow.” Our Lord desires us to contemplate His amazing creation and draw nearer to Him through it. 

Photo Credit: Trey Weaver.

With my passion for Creation, I try to find as many ways to be outside as I can. In my daily life, the primary way that I do this is through walking and running. I began taking regular walks several years ago when we adopted a husky-mix puppy, Midge. While she has grown into a peaceful, mellow companion, she was decidedly not so in her early days. For the first two years, she needed to be walked twice daily to manage her energy levels. In order to do this, I woke up before dawn each day to get a walk in before work, and doing the same route when I got home from work. Over the years, I had gone through ups and downs of physical fitness. Previously, I had always exercised at a gym. The daily walks with Midge planted a seed in me – what if I exercised more outside? What if I ran? 

I had never been a runner. I thought that I couldn’t do it, that I wasn’t that kind of person. But I desired it. I desired to care for the temple of my body and to make the most of my health. I also desired to be more fit and ready for bigger adventures out in the wilderness of Creation. These desires finally propelled me to start running. It was a long hard road to go from running thirty seconds at a time to where I am now. The journey was not just my body growing into what I was asking of it, however; it was a spiritual journey. 

Photo Credit: Trey Weaver.

One time in particular, the struggle of infertility as well as other hardships in our marriage and family were  weighing heavily on me and my wife, and I felt buried beneath the crosses of life. My body was suffering along with my heart, as I was out of shape. My wife was out of town for work, and I was home alone. I suddenly felt inspired to do the thing that I had wanted to do for so long – to run. I started a three mile loop around my neighborhood, and though my body objected slightly, it was liberating to be doing something good for my ailing body, mind, and heart. As I started, I noticed a beautiful puffy storm cloud off in the distance and said a prayer of thanks to the Lord for that little love note of encouragement. While it felt good, it also felt hard – and hot. Running on a June afternoon in the South may have been a bad idea, and I started to lose  steam. A mile and half in, my beloved cloud started drifting over towards me. I was burning up, and it provided some welcome shade. As I turned the corner for the last mile back home, it started to drop cool, soothing rain. That rain refreshed me enough to make it home and finish my run strong. 

When I got home, I wept tears of joy. This little run was truly a spiritual experience for me, and the Lord was with me though every second of it. I felt He had encouraged me to persevere through my present sufferings by saying:

“See, you can do hard things. You do not do them alone. I am with you. I will give you what you need to suffer difficult things well.” 

Photo Credit: Trey Weaver.

The Lord desires for us to care for our bodies and to relish the beauty of His Creation. We cannot compartmentalize our personhood, no matter how hard we try. We cannot focus strictly on our spiritual life and neglect the health of our bodies, or vice-versa. We are  body-soul composites and we should strive to integrate both aspects of our personhood in a healthy way of life. Taking care of our bodies is taking care of our whole selves. This can be a challenge as we wade through the sufferings of this life, especially the cross of infertility and loss, but God is with us. Let us pray for the grace to respond to His invitations to meet Him in His Creation and strengthen our bodies, our minds, and our hearts so that we may be the men and women, husbands and wives, that He is calling us to be. 

 Trey Weaver and his wife Ellie were married in 2018 and now live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with their husky/beagle mix, Midge. Trey was a parish Director of Youth ministry for seven years and is now the Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Trey and Ellie have been involved with ECHO Community, a Theology of the Body ministry for teens and young adults, since 2015. They love admiring the beauty of Creation, traveling to the mountains, and pursuing multiple shared and individual hobbies, such as film photography, good coffee, classic cocktails and cuisine.