As may be deduced by the title, Sturm writes a brief segment for each day on the natural world in the corresponding time of year and how God may be seen through seasonal events. Yesterday, for New Year's Day, we were reminded that God has watched over us from birth and will continue to care for us in the new year even if it has bad parts. Today's reading notes that winter is bleak, but we have all that is needed for our comfort in winter and should be thankful.
I read ahead a bit after buying the book and opened up to a warm day on which Sturm was amazed at the vast multitude of gnats that God made. Sturm got pretty giddy about all the gnats; that's my kind of guy!
Although my edition came with a rather puritanical introduction, Sturm himself seems contemporary, positive and broadminded in his theology thus far. So hopefully this will translate across the years and distance and be a nice devotional tool. I also enjoy the grand language used by Sturm and the translator; my favorite word so far was "sublunar".
I first learned of this book when working with regionally published copies at the library. My own imprint is from a local book dealer and was a personal copy. The woman who checked me out when I bought it noticed a relative's signature and the date 1956 inside. How cool is that?! It is a small world here in the Shenandoah Valley.
Sadly, my copy isn't in such good condition.
I wanted to invest in a hard copy, but you can also join in the nature devotions for free online. Sturm, once very popular, has been digitized!
So, Happy New Year, and as the Rev. Sturm wrote for January 2 back in the 1700s, "Let us only bestow more attention to the works of nature, and we shall never find occasion to arraign the wisdom of God...all tends to one grand point, the glory of God, and the happiness of man." p. 12
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