Opening Our Senses to a Life with God

Imagine a rose without its fragrance… 

Or a rainbow without its colors… 

Or the ocean without the sound of the powerful crashing waves…

Liken that to not experiencing the abundance that God offers to us through creation.

While there are many reasons I am passionate about getting children out in nature, I believe one of the most significant benefits is that it ushers them into a deeper understanding of God.

At Cambridge our desire is for students to discover for themselves God's truth, form a deeper understanding of how all learning is connected to God's created world, and develop an understanding of their place in it.

Through fully-embodied experiences with the created world, students awaken all their senses to the revelation God provides in nature. They become aware of His creativity, His provision, and His lavish love for us.

By participating in nature study, they hone their skills for noticing, for being curious, for attending to the detail that God put into His Handiwork. Nature studies lay the groundwork for children to slow down and make room to listen to God’s voice.

So many parables and lessons from Jesus are based on nature principles - sowing seed, grafting branches, bearing fruit, planting trees by the water….if children have no context for getting their hands in the dirt or working in a garden, how much harder will it be for them to find meaning and application in their own lives?

While at times it may seem that your kids are just playing outside, there is great intention as we take time to “Get Outside.”  We are fostering their relationship with nature in body, mind, and spirit so that they can fully experience God. 

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.

Job 12:7-10

The Maker is best understood by what He has made (Romans 1:20). The unseen can be known by what we can see.

Charlotte Mason said it this way:

“It would be well if we, all persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get in touch with nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.”

See you outside!

Ann Kumpf, MOT, Outdoor Education Coordinator