One of a series of dispatches and meditations about the world and Caring for Creation

In the Northern and Southern hemispheres, we are constantly reminded of God’s planning as the seasons change. Even near the equator where the swing of the seasons is not so wide, there still are times that are called “the rainy season”.

From where I write this note in Madison, Wisconsin USA, as they do every Autumn, the trees are starting to change color. It’s sort of their last cheer and hurrah and praise before God gives them the winter off to rest and recuperate. It makes me think that perhaps winter is a type of  ‘Creation Sabbath’ that He created.

In the past year, I have come to realize that although God’s creation can be harsh, a lot of the harshness is caused by the way that we treat creation. When we build right on the ocean or strip the land to build houses or burn our forests, there is a good chance that through the processes that are part of creation, our houses will be damaged by storms, rain will bring mudslides or our climate will change.

What if we didn’t do these things? What if we stopped imposing our rules, our expectations and our needs on His creation, lived closer to the way that God intended and stopped fighting His natural way?