I could hardly think straight after three whirlwind days of travel. We sold our home four days before and purchased a very used 20-foot travel trailer. My husband and I, along with our three-going-on-four children and black labrador, had trekked 1,327 miles across the country and arrived at Newport, Oregon, standing in the Pacific Ocean’s salty spray. We were embarking on a nine-week road trip across the Pacific Northwest (PNW). We’d arrived at the ocean just in time to witness the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.
I had never seen a solar eclipse from a “totality zone.” Everyone said it was the best viewing point—but what did that mean? My head was foggy with fatigue, but I was about to experience the clearest moment of my life.
At 9:05 in the morning, it was as if night began to fall around us. Fog reversed direction and rushed back into the bay. The temperature dropped dramatically. Seabirds and sea lions raised their voices in confusion. Then, one by one, stars appeared in the mid-morning sky. And then the sun disappeared before our eyes.
“How does God do that?” our four-year-old son asked. We stood together in awe, staring at the heavens declaring the glory of our Maker—the one who strung together galaxies. He is the same One who so meticulously cares about the details of my life and family. And that day atop a sandy hill in Newport, I realized more clearly than ever that God is sovereign, powerful, and in control. After one minute and forty-five seconds, the moon, which had cloaked the sun in darkness, began moving aside, and a brilliant orb of light burst forth as the sun reappeared.
We are raising kids in a confusing culture and uncertain society. Yet, watching the solar eclipse, I was assured that darkness never wins. It may attempt to hide the light, but it cannot prevail. As John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
iStock | PicWorks
The Power of Stepping Outside
Abram (later renamed Abraham) had a similar experience in Genesis. In Genesis 15, God took Abram outside. He pointed his attention to the stars and promised him he would have a family and legacy. In verse 6, we read that Abram “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Staring up at the night sky, Abram believed God. I have to wonder how much that starry expanse played a part in his faith.
The first thing God did was take Abram outside. What might happen if we take our kids outside? We can follow God’s lead and bring our kids into the domain of creation, where they can stand, walk, and explore in awesome wonder. That evening in Hebron wasn’t the only time God used materials from His creation to teach biblical truth. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus calling on birds of the air, flowers of the field, grains of sane, a mustard seed, an olive tree, and other memorable visuals to anchor His truth in the minds of those He taught. If God uses nature to communicate truth, we can also.
Throughout our nine weeks exploring the PNW, I found this part of the map ripe with the opportunity to nurture our faith through God’s creation. As we made our way up the coast, gray whales waved to us with their massive fins from the water. In the Columbia Gorge, we explored dirt trails dotted with Banana slugs. We stood beneath the misty spray of Multnomah Falls. On Coupeville Wharf, my children laid belly-down on the pier as they gently ran their fingers over moon jellyfish. At Deception Pass, they balanced over massive felled trees dripping with moss. We spent three weeks on Orcas Island and ferrying across the Puget Sound, exploring a world far different than our own back in the high desert of Colorado.
iStock | LFPuntel
In each experience, we glimpsed God in nature. This is the power of immersing our kids in creation. Whether it be as dramatic as the sun’s disappearing and reappearing act or as simple as a walk beneath the full moon or hike to a waterfall, God uses these experiences. Creation declares His truth, which we know from Isaiah 55:11, does “not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
As God brought Abram outside, we also can bring our kids into nature. And as they experience the wonders of creation, they too can encounter the creator God as Abram did.
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Eryn Lynum is a certified master naturalist, Bible teacher, national speaker, and author of Rooted in Wonder: Nurturing Your Family’s Faith Through God’s Creation and 936 Pennies: Discovering the Joy of Intentional Parenting. Eryn lives in Northern Colorado with her husband, Grayson, and their four children, whom they homeschool—mainly in the great outdoors. Her family spends their days hiking, camping, and adventuring through the Rocky Mountains. Eryn leads nature classes and hikes and has been featured on Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Radio, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and MOPS International. Every opportunity she gets, she is out exploring God’s creation with her family and sharing the adventures at www.ErynLynum.com.
