Getting the Heart Ready for the Hard Times

In this summer of 2018, torrential rains swamp the northeastern states of America, and fires rage in the west. Heat scorches Europe, and the rainy season in Bali has lasted for almost a year. Few can deny any longer that global climate change is a reality.

There are many practical things  each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint. But we must also refresh and renew how we live with the places that sustain us, even when they are under threat.

We must give love and attention to these places. What happens to them will happen to us as well, and the challenges could range from extreme weather to an influx of refugees to water shortages. Remembering to find fresh examples of beauty in our places every day, no matter what has happened to them, we open ourselves to the gifts that are always available, even in darkness. Sharing our stories of the challenges confronting our places, we discover the deep roots we have in common, despite our religious, political, or ethnic differences. Making beauty for our places, we celebrate the inherent worth beneath the scars. Making beauty we find beauty.