Oh great God of heaven and Earth, I bow my head in prayer to You this day, and pray for this land that stretches out before me
I call out to my Lord, that You would listen to me and feel compassion for the life that lives here
A drought has stricken our lands. It has made our fields dry and cracked. Our once lush forests have been weakened and are struggling. They have become like tinder that waits for a single spark to ignite them
All of life here is in retreat. The beauty of the west is disappearing and the survivors are hard pressed and stricken
The fires come in weary regularity now. They burn like gigantic furnaces that consume everything in their path and with a quickness that fiercely devoirs the gardens that once bloomed there
It has been heartwarming to witness the regrowth that springs up after. Like a miracle, it is a testament to the tenacity of these survivors. But, something is much different now, the old ground rules are being broken
For the heat and the drought is just relentless. Year after year it continues to surprise us and repeat itself
The rebirth of our lands and forests, so promising, is losing now . Restoration is being aborted, because of the harshness of our climate
The days keep growing warmer and the nights even more so. The heat and aridness are worse that anyone can remember
Our wet seasons happen in short bursts, and then vanish for months at a time. Brief periods of ‘normal weather’ are being displaced by strange periods of sun, winds, and drought
Lord look down upon us and this hard stricken land. Bring us relief for the sake of this beautiful place. Look fondly upon this land, for it is suffering
I can’t help but think of the ways in which we have caused all this
The excesses of our age that have tilted the balance and now wreak damage. Global warming is a man-made plague, a problem of our own making, and our responsibility
This drought I see all around me is a consequence of our actions
Can I really ask God to help bring us relief?
Can I truly ask Him to clean up this mess that is a product of our disrespect for His creation?
Therefore, I will pray a new prayer. May we all develop a caring attitude for the Earth and all that lives here
Can we overcome the inertia and profit motives of our industries, so that we may focus on finding solutions to this difficult problem?
How great are the consequences if we decide to ignore and accept this and deadly for millions of people in the coming years
Climate change has the potential to accelerate rapidly from here. As it does, it will ripple unrest, starvation, and plagues across the globe
I will pray then that we commit to undoing the damage we have caused, and that we will work together throughout the world, to care for the health of our planet
For this I will pray for, and for this, I will accept responsibility 2/4/2022