For the Beauty of the Earth

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:    a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

These last several days as the snow has fallen and covered our world in Lincoln, I sit and look out of the window and marvel at the beauty of nature. It made me think about the hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth”. I keep on singing it in my head, and in spite of the enormous amount of snow that we received, I’m glad to live in an area with four seasons.  

Sing or say these words to the song in your heart and mind:

                For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies.

                For the love which from our birth over and around us lies.

                Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

I started this after our big snowfall, but I’m now finding it difficult to continue to feel blessed for the four seasons in Nebraska. As Pastor Melodie pointed out in her sermon on February 14, the snow keeps coming and with it bitter cold temperatures, and many of us are more than ready for spring to start. We’re ready for crocuses, daffodils, flowering trees, green grass and warm days. But we can have faith that it will all happen and the snow will melt, finally, for this year.  

Prayer: Dear Lord, as we deal with the challenges of winter, let us not forget the beauty of your creation. Be with us during this cold, bleak winter until spring comes to rejuvenate our lives. Amen.

Carolyn Brandle