Quiet Waters

Black River in eastern Arizona.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Psalms 23 is probably the second most quoted scripture in the Bible, next to John 3:16.  Denzel Washington quotes this scripture in the movie Book of Eli (one of my favorite movies by the way!).  The portion of the psalm that many people know is in verse four; the valley of the shadow of death part.  Above is the NIV version which reads a little differently.

For me, the comforting part of Psalms 23 is verses 2 and 3.  I recall when my oldest daughter and I were training for a 60-mile, 5-day backpacking trip along the Mogollon Rim in central Arizona.  We would take shorter, 10-20 mile overnight training hikes to help prepare us for the big one.

On one of those training hikes, we were backpacking near an area called Blue Ridge, not far from the gas station and small post office known as Clint's Well.  At one point in the trip, we descended close to 1000 feet into the Clear Creek Valley. At the bottom, we took off our boots and soaked our tired feet in the creek.  Of course, the mountain water of the creek was quite cold and after about ten minutes our feet were approaching numb.  We walked across the creek barefoot, needing to cross the stream anyway, dried our wet feet with dirty laundry from our packs and continued up the path.

I guess it all depends how one defines "quiet".  Yes, the water gurgled down the creek bed, occasionally crashing against a rock.  In that sense, perhaps the waters of Clear Creek were not quiet.  If one defines "quiet" as being at peace, then Clear Creek went well beyond quiet.  When Eileen and I were sitting in Clear Creek, we embraced this peace.  The only sound to be heard was the wind rushing down the valley, an occasional raptor screaming at something beneath where he circled overhead, and the creek itself.  I was very fortunate that my daughter, who was only twelve years old at the time, respected this peace.

Every time I go hiking, at least by myself, I try to dedicate time to just sit. Perhaps my feet are dangled into a cold stream or maybe I am just leaning against a rock.  Listening to the water flow or the wind finding its way through the tree branches above brings me peace.

I find myself in a position now-a-days where I need to find some quiet waters.  I think every now and then we need reminding that the rat race is not what God intended.  Stroking egos and picking lint is not what God intended.  These are human priorities that have been thrust upon us.  God intended for us to be at peace.  And while we can find God (and His peace that surpasses understanding) anywhere, I find it best beside the quiet waters.

Ready for Spring

Like many folks, I am ready for spring.  Here in Ohio, this seems like the coldest and snowiest winter on record.  Not sure if it has been officially.  Seems like pretty much everyday of 2014 it has either snowed or we have had temperatures ten to twenty degrees below normal; several days have been both.

Psalms 104 says that:

"He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
to their labor until evening."

God made the seasons, and I certainly understand the logic behind having seasons. Winter is a time of rest. Creation still rests in winter.  Man . . . well that's a different story.

The Bible also says that God will not give us more than we can handle. Therefore, I will survive the cabin fever I am feeling. But in the meantime, here are some pretty spring pictures to lighten the mood!

Hepatica

Snow Trillium

Yellow Trout Lily

Monarch Butterfly: Poster Child for the Mismanagement of Creation

The data is out.  This week the WWF-Telcel Alliance released data from the annual estimate of the monarch butterfly population at the overwintering sites in central Mexico.  This winter, to no one's surprise, has the smallest number of monarchs ever recorded overwintering in Mexico.  Rather than actually counting each individual monarch, a daunting and impossible task, researchers estimate the area (in hectares) that the densely clustering monarchs are occupying.  The estimate for the winter of 2013-2014 is 0.63 hectares.  The previous record low was set last winter at 1.19 hectares.  The best winter since 1994-95 when data began to be collected was the winter of 1996-97 with 20.97 hectares.

For those who may be math challenged, this winter is a 97 percent decrease from 17 years ago.  Why such a precipitous drop?  There are a number of issues at play.  This past spring, when monarchs were leaving Mexico to head back north, the weather in Mexico and south Texas was very cold.  Normally what happens is the migratory generation of monarchs, those who spent the winter in Mexico, lay eggs and die in northern Mexico and south Texas.  The children, once they grow to adulthood, continue the trip north and east throughout North America.  In 2013, due to cold weather, many of the nectar and host plants needed to support the monarch life cycle were not available.  Spring and early summer in eastern North America had similar cold temperatures, thus putting the monarch life cycle further behind schedule.

The bigger problem for the monarch however is loss of habitat.  In December 1994, if an airplane had dropped DDT on the monarch overwintering sites in Mexico, killing 97% of the monarchs, there would have been a massive outcry, both from environmentalists and non-environmentalists, from everyday people who think butterflies are pretty.  However, we have managed to do the exact same thing through habitat loss, whittling away a little more each year, with only butterfly nerds seeming to notice.

Some of the habitat loss is happening on the Mexican side of the border with the illegal logging of pristine overwintering habitat.  And while I think we can find other ways for Mexicans in that area to make a living, I can understand the local inhabitants' perspective.  Genesis 2:15 tells us to use the land for our sustenance, but to also take care of the land.  The Mexicans have been logging these mountains for generations; it will take awhile to transition them to a different economy or to educate them on sustainable logging practices, such that there can be plenty of trees for man and insect.

The bigger problem for the monarch is on the American side of the border.  The use of Round-up Ready crops, conversion of wild lands to subdivisions, and roadside mowing to the point of obsession has made the once plentiful milkweed that the monarch depends on, a relic in its own right.  We are not taking care of the land wisely.  The Lord created a wonderfully intricate system when he formed Creation; a system that manages to stay in balance when left to itself.  As humans, we are using the land but taking care of it only in terms of our own selfish needs, rather than the needs of Creation itself and the system God put in place to operate it.

So what happens now?  I don't think the monarch is going to go extinct, only because nature nerds will not allow that to happen.  However, I think it is imperative for all believers to feel a sense of urgency to bring Creation back into balance.  The monarch is only the poster child for a divine system that is out-of-whack.  Every believer should be all about creating wildlife habitat in their home landscapes, having a minimal impact on Creation, and farming with an attitude of what is best for Creation and not just what is best for the next season's crop.

Start today!  Dedicate a section of your yard to convert back into prairie or woods or whatever it once was.  Plant milkweed in your yard for the next generation of monarch butterflies.  Replant the wildflowers that the hummingbirds once used for nectar.  We can bring Creation back into balance, if we ALL work at it a little bit at a time.