This is a guest blog by my dear friend!   When I received this via FB messenger I was blessed by it. In fact it gave me chills!  I wanted to share it with you so that you could be blessed as well.  Christen is an awesome woman and a friend of nature!

Let me tell you a story:

I was a girl raised by the pines.

I played in their shade.

I rested on the sweet and fragrant mat they so generously laid down.

I studied and was in awe of the perfection of their cones.

I wrote secret messages on pieces of their bark.

I was a girl raised by the pines.

The loblolly pines of my childhood taught me about taking care of small things, and that I should nurture life for as long as it was possible for me to do so.

They taught me the importance of bending in a storm.

They taught me that when I shed that which no longer serves me, I open myself up to new growth.  

They taught me that my gifts were seeds that could be spread far and wide so others may benefit.

They taught me that together, as a community, you are stronger than when you stand alone.

I think they even gave me the color of my hair.

Because I was a girl raised by the pines.

Christen Miller is a native of Texas and lived in Louisiana before settling in Virginia. She has a BA from University of Houston in Visual and Applied Design and is a life-long camper and explorer. She was and still is greatly influenced by her father – a sculptor and naturalist, and her mother – a nurse by trade but a skilled crafter by heart. Christens love and deep connection with nature, and all the myriad ways in which you can learn, grow, and care for it led her to a career with Virginia State Parks as a park naturalist at Pocahontas SP. She is now the Visitor Experience Director for the park system. When she’s not wearing her park ranger hat she enjoys music and art, reading, sewing, camping, and gardening. She is a Reiki Master, clairvoyant healer, light worker, and is currently studying nature immersion, and guided forest meditation. She resides in Chesterfield County with her husband, three kids, a cat and a dog.