Leaves...

When I was a kid, I had 3 generations of the greatest teachers that will ever walk this planet: The Beumers. I had Grandma (Mrs. Kraus), Mom (Mrs. Beumer), and Daughter (Miss Beumer). Anyone who has ever sat in their classrooms will agree that those three women made teaching an art form. I have no idea where I'd be without them.
Mrs. Kraus gave the best hugs, and saw something in me that made her pass me up to the next grade level (I was bored and disruptive--go figure!).
Mrs. Beumer taught me to love to read, and forged the foundation of my love of writing.
Miss Beumer encouraged my writing, taught me to love science, and made time to help me survive pre-calculus.
Three generations of teachers...none of whom did it for the paycheck.
I went to the tiniest of Christian schools--Crosspoint Christian School--where I graduated in a class of 6 people (yes, I was valedictorian), and where I learned more lessons about life and faith than in almost any other time in my life. Miss Beumer taught biology class with an overhead projector (Fancy!) and coloring sheets where we would carefully color and label the parts of the body. We dissected, took notes, and gained an appreciation for the world around us.
Most importantly, we gained an appreciation for God's hand in creating the world around us.
Several lessons in that classroom made a lasting impact, but none more so than the time she brought in a simple leaf for us to study. Sure, we were discussing chlorophyll and plant structure, but it was the faith behind the science that I will never forget. It stops me in my tracks to this day, and makes me appreciate the outdoors as a marker of the love that God has for us.
There's a careful balance in our eco-system. No, this isn't where I get all hippie-ish and tell you to go hug a tree (that's my sister's department); this is where I remind you that plants and trees produce gases that are important to the air we breathe. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; plants and trees help keep that oxygen clean, and the carbon dioxide balance in check. I know that it's a lot more complicated than that,  but I'm not a scientist. I can't help but marvel at how nature shows in every way, that God has a plan and that He cares for us.
Flip over the next leaf you see. Do you see the careful lines, the markers of how that plant gets its nourishment? Ever consider that it closely mimics our nervous system or our cardiovascular system? It's a delicate design, and it can't be duplicated by machines. It's a beautiful network that runs through our bodies, and it's so carefully planned out. There's a verse in Psalms that says "when I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man, that You are mindful of him?" (Ps. 8:3-4). (Incidentally, it's also a Johnny Cash song:)
It's a simple moment where David is reflecting on the incredulity around him. He notices the back of the leaf...he's caught up in the moment where he realizes just how small he really is. Why should God care?
Why should the God that has the power to create the moon and the stars, care at all about us?
Why should He care about me?
Why should He take the time to make sure that we have trees and plants, and birds...why should He care that our planet is tilted at just the right angle to keep us from freezing or burning...why should He care about anything but His own awesomeness?
Why should He care about my child?
That's beyond my comprehension.
Like David, I'm blown away by the world around me. My tendency to freeze in the pit of anxiety can be stopped in its tracks by something as simple as a leaf--if He can design a leaf with such function and beauty, He can take care of me.
To Him, I'm way more important than foliage.
To Him, you're way more important than sparrows or lilies...than planets or porpoises...to Him, you're worth dying for.
"What is man, that You are mindful of him?"
To Him, we are beloved.
We get overwhelmed. We get bogged down. We get stuck in our ruts or our valleys, and sometimes it seems easier to stay that way. We prefer our tar pits to mountains, and we get enslaved into looking down at our own feet

I like trees. I like sunshine. I like that everything that’s beautiful, encourages us to look UP. I like that leaves fall down, like confetti in the most beautiful of parades, and ask us to look high and see where they came from. Nature is designed to grow towards the sun.

So are we.

We are not designed to rot or to freeze; we are designed for life, to thrive. Everything He did in six days of creation, was carefully laid out so that we are reminded to look to Him, to trust in Him, and to know that He is “majestic.” Nature encourages us to lay down our burdens, to be free and to fly or run or swim—we’re designed to stay in motion, always going forward, always trusting in Him to provide the sustenance and the path. He designs the schedule of our lives like He designs the seasons or the phases of the moon; He has The Plan.  We just have to trust Him.

From what I’ve seen, even in something as simple as a leaf, He is trustworthy with the direction of our lives. He is trustworthy with our hearts…

Stop and consider the world around you. Ignore the man-made contrivances; put away your iPhones and your Facebook (as I type this on my laptop and post it on my Twitter account ). Take out the distractions that we’ve created, and replace them with something that God has created…Consider the lilies, consider the heavens, consider the leaves…

Consider your place in this beautiful world, and consider yourself loved by its Creator…consider His plans for your life, and trust Him to complete the work that He has promised in you…