Let's hear it for the earth!

Lord how thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye

If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky

(From Hymn 398 by Isaac Watts)

       

Today, April 22, is the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day. But, of course, people well before 1970 were already drawing our attention to the beauty and wonder of God’s creation and the urgency of being good stewards and protectors of “this fragile earth, our island home”.  

       

The two names that immediately come to mind for me are John Muir, who founded and became first president of the Sierra Club in 1892, and was known as the “Father” of the National Parks (remembered on our church calendar today). The other name is Rachel Carson , author of “Silent Spring” in 1962, which opened the way for her to become known as the “Mother” of the modern environmental movement.

     

I was blessed to grow up camping and hiking in many National Parks with my family and had a father who wrote poems about most of them. I loved watching the Ken Burns series on the National Parks, “America’s Best Idea.” But while Muir has fed and filled me for a lifetime through his many books, a quote from Rachel Carson seems especially relevant right now, reminding us that nature is as close as our back yard, a walk through the neighborhood, or just opening our eyes to greet each new day:

     

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature---the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.” 

    

Especially right now, people all over the earth are experiencing a kind of extended, stay indoors “winter”, while waiting for a vaccine and a more free, outdoor spring sometime in 2021. In the meantime, perhaps nature is teaching us some lessons we have forgotten or taken for granted; lessons about discipline, strength, endurance, patience, and a deeper understanding of all of nature’s cycles which lead to one glorious resurrection after another, “repeated refrains” as Carson wrote.

Repeated refrains? All things bright and beautiful.... indeed!

John