Those who say nature is peaceful are mistaken. You walk down that trail in the forest, and all is serene and you feel at peace. What if I tell you a mountain lion was stalking you on that trail. Are you still feeling peaceful?

Any careful observer of nature will tell you it is a chaotic and cruel environment. Survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. Mostly it is the young and weak that are the first to die. Even plants choke their neighbors so they can live. The forces of weather are wild and destructive.

But even in nature there is hope and love. The mother will care for the young. Through death, life sprouts. The cycle continues. Do I see God in nature? Yes. But it isn't in the big events, but the little ones.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13)