Devotion for April 15
by Wally Northrup Devotion:
"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
-Psalm 118:24
Reflection From a Park Bench
During this time of coronavirus confinement we are blessed to have a park a short walk away. In the park is an isolated pond rimmed by cattails with a path going all around it. And on that path is a bench which is my destination on this unusually warm day in April. I come here often to listen and learn and each time is different from the last.
On this day the pond is alive with hope. There are no frogs chipping yet, but there is hope that the pond has lots of tadpoles. A hopeful sign is that the red winged blackbirds are back and their mating calls are fascinating to listen to. The trees do not have leaves or even buds yet, but we hope that water has reached the roots and the roots are making sugar and producing sap and are in the process of moving it cell-by-cell to the tip of every branch some forty feet in the air to create new buds.
Then of all things I see a yellow bellied sapsucker hopping near the base of the trunk of some aspen trees......No doubt hoping for a meal from the fresh sap moving up the tree.
As I sit here in the warm sun taking all this in, I am suddenly overcome by the Spirit of God moving over everything in sight. The Creator of Heaven and Earth is still creating and evolving all life on earth it seems to me. And there is an incredible balance in all his creation.
In contrast, human impact on the earth seems to be one of consumption and destruction in so many ways. Dare we hope that we can align the world more in the way God intended it?
Prayer
I find myself praying that as a result of this coronavirus’ impact, we as a people will come to see how interdependent we are to each other and treasure personal relationships over so many destructive habits in our culture. God, we will need your help on this. Amen
Bio
Wally Northrup and his wife Karen are 60 year members of St. Michael's. They have three children and eight amazing grandchildren
by Wally Northrup Devotion:
"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
-Psalm 118:24
Reflection From a Park Bench
During this time of coronavirus confinement we are blessed to have a park a short walk away. In the park is an isolated pond rimmed by cattails with a path going all around it. And on that path is a bench which is my destination on this unusually warm day in April. I come here often to listen and learn and each time is different from the last.
On this day the pond is alive with hope. There are no frogs chipping yet, but there is hope that the pond has lots of tadpoles. A hopeful sign is that the red winged blackbirds are back and their mating calls are fascinating to listen to. The trees do not have leaves or even buds yet, but we hope that water has reached the roots and the roots are making sugar and producing sap and are in the process of moving it cell-by-cell to the tip of every branch some forty feet in the air to create new buds.
Then of all things I see a yellow bellied sapsucker hopping near the base of the trunk of some aspen trees......No doubt hoping for a meal from the fresh sap moving up the tree.
As I sit here in the warm sun taking all this in, I am suddenly overcome by the Spirit of God moving over everything in sight. The Creator of Heaven and Earth is still creating and evolving all life on earth it seems to me. And there is an incredible balance in all his creation.
In contrast, human impact on the earth seems to be one of consumption and destruction in so many ways. Dare we hope that we can align the world more in the way God intended it?
Prayer
I find myself praying that as a result of this coronavirus’ impact, we as a people will come to see how interdependent we are to each other and treasure personal relationships over so many destructive habits in our culture. God, we will need your help on this. Amen
Bio
Wally Northrup and his wife Karen are 60 year members of St. Michael's. They have three children and eight amazing grandchildren
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