The Great I Am dazzles me every time I venture beyond the city limits. Mother Nature brims with such heavenly energy that no manmade sanctuary could ever feel as holy as God’s deserts, meadows, alpine heights, oceans, lakes and forests.

Someone I love claims to live without spirituality. But I disagree. I see his countenance change when we are out in the Lord’s creation. The joy. The appreciation. And—without recognizing it—his spirituality shines through.

God links us with all creation.

Being outdoors connects me with the Lord’s world. I experience serenity and a connection to the divine that makes me appreciate living and how connected I am to everything this Most Supreme Being has put around me. Nature reminds me I do not live in a vacuum and that I share a commonality with all of God’s creatures.

Native Americans and New Agers say everything is energy, whether it’s a slab of granite or a raven soaring the skies. I believe that energy is a gift from God. In the act of creation, the Great I Am infuses everything with its being.

Outside the ethereal connectivity I feel, there are the obvious links. The coyote hunting the cottontail so it can successfully rear its pups. The rabbit nibbles a blossom for nourishment, then defecates seed to spread the plant’s reach. Humans cannot live apart from nature, even if you live in a Manhattan high-rise. We need oxygenated air to breathe, and plants and animals to eat.

Isle of Skye

God’s existence is proven in creation’s complexity.

I don’t understand how anyone can ponder the intricacies of Mother Nature and not believe in God. The National Geographic, after reviewing many scientific studies, reported in its April 2013 issue that there are probably 438,100 vertebrate and invertebrate species (not including the 5.6 million insect and arachnid species). In the high desert, this diversity reveals itself in the sandy-hued horned toad and the fleet pronghorn antelope.

The circle of life is choreographed perfectly, and randomness can’t account for such intricate creations and interrelationships.  Something with astounding intellect and vision had to orchestrate all life and the array of ecosystems—and that has to be the Great I Am.

Mankind is the only animal that fools themselves into believing they’re above the rest of God’s creation. We are all linked. And, by elevating ourselves above all of the Lord’s other creations, we’ve triggered global warming and mass extinctions.

Venture out into the fenceless wilds and experience oneness with God.

Whether you admire the rugged beauty of the Great Basin desert or wander amidst redwood giants, God’s cathedral emits more divine glory than anything else, while demonstrating the Great I Am’s desire for us to live responsibly and respectfully of all creation.