The Invisible String

"When One tugs at a single thing in Nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."


John Muir (1838 - 1914)






Yesterday was a beautiful North Carolina day, filled with sun,  perfectly broken up with intermittent peaceful clouds and a warm breeze to end February superbly.  My five year old, Wynter, and I spent the afternoon outside playing while his younger brother napped.     Wynter rode his bike, played in the dirt, found interesting rocks, and we both (with our respective cameras) took pictures of the miraculous blooms and flowers surrounding our quaint house.  A great afternoon for any five year old boy and his mom, but this one had an extra twist that made it even more remarkable.


Wynter began a conversation with me somewhere in the middle of the fun that went something like this, “Mama, what is God?”.  This is not the first time we have had a conversation about God, but I answered differently this time.


“Well, what do you think God is Wyn?”, I replied.


“I don’t know.”, he said, “Tell me Mama.”  “It’s a hard question buddy, but I think God is in all living things.”, I answered.  He was quiet for a bit looking at our dog Jordan, the plants around us, many in bloom on this last day of February.  


“What does God look like Mom?” was the next question and I just thought... 
'wow, he’s not letting up with the tough questions is he.. I love this boy.'  Again I turned the question back to him, “Tell me what you think about when you think of God.  What do you think God might look like?”  Wynter swayed from side to side, pondering the question and then said definitively, “ God is an invisible string that connects us all to one another.”

My heart swelled with a mother’s love for my beautiful boy.  He went on to describe God as the invisible string, “God then could connect all the plants and animals and people... the whole earth.  And even when we were far away from each other it would be ok because we would still be connected.” I looked at Wynter, his dark hair with gentle curls, soft face, and deep soulful eyes and said, “ I like that,” then I half teased, “do you suppose God is like fishing line string?”  He smiled, “ I do like to fishing.  Yeah, maybe God is just like that!”


We continued to talk about God, the many names of God, our connection to all living things, if you could get tangled up in the invisible string, and a plethora of other topics of a spiritual nature for quite a while during River’s nap.  Then we each took our cameras, exploring the possibilities that nature had offered through new blossoms bursting through, all connected to us by The Invisible String.  It was a miraculously peaceful afternoon.

The idea of The Invisible String has stuck with me HARD since our conversation.  It is so poignant to what is happening in the boys and my life right now.  As we prepare for a big transition out of a community we know and love dearly, leaving every day routine and familiarity, friends, and local haunts, there is great comfort in the knowledge that we will be surrounded not only by family, but also The Invisible String.  There is solace in this awareness that The Invisible String connects me with all living things.  This connection can not be severed because it is forged in the ultimate love.  I can move forward knowing that, while I say goodbye with a heavy heart, I am hopeful because of the existence of The Invisible String.