Happy Earth Day

So how do you celebrate Earth Day? I remember the first time I celebrated it. I was in college and found myself president of our Earth Stewardship Organization. Our biggest achievement while I was a member was bringing recycling to campus beginning with containers for empty soda cans. We collected the cans on Saturdays and had to separate the aluminum cans from the steel ones. Then we joyfully stomped them into little pancakes. And someone took them to the recycling center in town.

But for Earth Day we wanted a special activity. Our faculty advisor learned of a landfill beautification project in a nearby town. The landfill was full and closed and it was our job to help plant a pine forest overtop. Somewhere, I probably have a certificate that states how many seedlings were planted that day. It was work, but it was a lot of fun. I should find that certificate so I'd know where it was as well. It would be fun to drive down with my kids to see how it's grown. (Hard to believe, but that's been 18 or so years ago now.)



As a family, we have the best intentions for a special Earth Day activity, but it usually rains. We end up waiting for a dry day not long after and celebrate in the spirit of Earth Day. Since we have a creek on one side of the property, our activity usually involves removing trash that has found its way down there over the winter. Last year we planted some saplings (Norway spruce-above photo) to replace some of the trees that had come down in an ice storm. This year we'll be back on trash patrol as I've already spotted some bags and cups snagged on the bushes.



I've heard some preachers say that Earth Day is a waste--it's all going to melt with a fervent heat someday anyway. Well, the Bible does say that, but that's not a reason to trash our surroundings or to frivolously use up all our resources without a thought to the future. While the Bible is clear that there is coming an end, we do not know how long into the future that will be. (I'm not advocating worshipping "Mother Nature" either, just so we're clear. Saving the whales while millions of babies are aborted is just sad--our society has its priorities so twisted.) I support moral causes even more than natural ones. It's just that I happen to enjoy the earthly beauty, too. And I feel a responsibility to keep it beautiful.

At the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:26 says "And God said, Let us make man in our image,after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." The Bible also says that to whom much is given, much is required. God has blessed us with a weatlh of beauty and goodness on this planet we call "Home." I'm teaching my kids that it's our responsibility to take good care of it as a gesture of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for his blessings.