by Charlene Lozicki

I have a large window in my family room that gives me a good view of my backyard which has an assortment of trees, small animals, and a variety of birds. When I look out into the yard I think about Mother Nature and how she cares for herself. The trees bloom in the spring and their leaves shade in the summer. In the fall, Mother Nature does her housekeeping. The leaves are windswept away and the trees go to sleep for the winter.

The animals and birds mate in the spring, and when their young are born they feed and protect them from harm. They teach them also to care for themselves as they mature, and repeat the mating process. Each of the species also prepares for the winter, some storing food and others migrating to more hospitable areas. They follow Mother Nature’s plan for them.

Then there are humans, the only species God gave free choice. Not all humans have the same abilities, but working together, and caring for one another, would be a perfect outcome. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.

I think back to stories of my grandparents, they worked hard and prepared their homes with heat and food for the cold winter. Today we have more conveniences, and even though some things remain the same, we need heat and food. But we don’t have a day of rest and prayer like they did. Everyone is in a hurry, and there is so much to accomplish. Those that do have prayer and try for a time of rest are criticized, sometimes severely.

There was a time when a teenager saw a movie and that person was left with good thoughts. Recently many films are created only to make money, and they target the teenager who is with their friends and want a thrill. Television has picked up on the idea and goes for number of viewers. News broadcasters are reporting so much negative news and, many times, hate. These are repeated over and over. Hate and obscene language seems to be repeated the most.

If you are not accepted by the [in crowd] and are hurt and lonely, doesn’t all this negativity make the United States a troubled society?

We need to get back to prayer and maybe become less troubled. Stop, look around and see how we can better ourselves, and live the life we were created to live. Mother Nature does it well.