Where have all the forests gone? Sand Mountain Lament |
Justifiable Losses On the way home last Sunday, from the mountains of lower Appalachia, it rained earth and water, leaves and drizzle. It was an Alabama winter wonderland, and it did not go unappreciated. The humidity gave the rocks a polished sheen, like coal or a moonless night sky. Passing pastures, livestock, dented pick-up trucks, tractors on the road, shacks with yard sales out front and no one home, I wasn’t surprised to see the church parking lots full of cars. It was rural Alabama at its best. As I made my way to the valley, I drove past trees growing bare and through them, I could see what was hiding there. Naked earth where once was forest. These hills, once covered with a tapestry of changing colors, were scalped with nothing to show for their capture. I mourned the loss, but then I saw foreclosure signs along the way, and I asked myself, who was I to judge? Perhaps they justify the destruction of wildlife habitats as making ends meet and keeping their homes. We live in an age where we humans have paid for, and fenced off, this magnificent landscape and labeled it with the words, “mine.” I often wonder if God knew what he was getting into when he entrusted humans to care for his garden. Perhaps He justifies these losses as a tax write-off for education. Like any good parent, in an effort to teach His children to appreciate what He has given, perhaps He’s decided to allow us to suffer our own consequences and ground us for a while. But also like a good parent, I hope He is watching to see if we’ve learned from our mistakes and if we’ve grown to appreciate what we have lost. For isn’t it the law of man to value most, what we find scarce, and the law of our Creator to teach, not to punish. It is time to please Him, not with praise songs, or attendance at church, nor reading the good book, nor memorizing scripture, but by sharing with our fellow man the gifts of this earth and caring for His creations. SWPoet |