Conserving Creation

I just found out about Blog Action Day and being that this year's topic is about the environment, I thought I would add my own post with it.

Conservation and the environment is something that has become pretty important to me and Wes. Yesterday in Sunday school, Scott went over Psalm 8 and I really loved this part of it:
"You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and all that swims in the paths of the seas." Psalm 8:6-8
I guess the passage stuck out to me because not only does it confirm mankind's dominion over the earth, but it implies a responsibility. When we think of rulers, the ideal is that the ruler takes care of their kingdom. Unfortunately many rulers throughout history have been tyrannical, to the point of destroying their own kingdoms. So how do we learn from those lessons when we realize that we are rulers over God's creation? Are we taking care of it? Or do we become "tyrannical" and destroy it?

I am not a fan of the whole global warming craze. Wes and I find it pretty ridiculous and even scientists have said there is no absolute proof. But put a high profile politician on the case and tag along a bunch of A-list celebs, and the world goes ga-ga over something not even proven. There are pros and cons to this. The good thing is that people are becoming more aware of our need to be good stewards of what God has given us. The bad thing is that so much focus and attention (and money) is being spent towards an event that is doubtable that it takes away from things that are in a bigger state of urgency.

On another blog I read regularly (partly because the blog happens to be my Dad's), it was mentioned that he believes that human race isn't the enemy of the earth. And I agree. Wes & I, environmentalists that we are, do not believe we are the earth's enemy. That implies that we are intentionally destroying it with no desire to restore it. And that's not true. Well let me correct that, as there always is an exception to the rule. But generally, people don't want to see the earth in shambles. We do, however, believe that humankind is responsible for much of what is happening. Mad Cow disease is a result of humans feeding diseased cow meat and bones to living cows...it gets passed to humans when the cows are killed to sell to humans to eat. A cow on its own is an herbivore. Humans have brought on Mad Cow disease by feeding cows something that goes against how God designed them. We screwed it up. That's just one example. But that's not to say it can't be changed. It can be!! And that's what is so awesome about it. We don't have to live in a state of impending doom, which has tended to be the theme of global warming activists. There is still so much good going on with creation, humans just need to see the error of their ways and start fixing what has been messed up. Now will that ever happen 100%? Of course not...we live in a fallen, sinful world. But that doesn't mean that those who know better, Christians in particular who know of our dominion over the earth, can't try and do something about it. My dad, for example, picks up candy wrappers blown in the wind rather than letting it blow to someone else's lawn. I hope people can see that taking care of God's creation can be as simple as that.

Wes and I have made the decision to incorporate more organic and all natural foods into our diet. We have decided to purchase only free range meat. We have boycotted Canadian seafood. Quick jaunts to Whole Foods has us bringing our canvas bag to save on their paper/plastic bags (and usually means a discount for us as a result). I realize that our convictions run deeper than most people we know. That's ok...we're not going to go all PETA on people and expect them to live as we do (hey, we don't even like PETA). I just hope that the next time Christians are taking in the beauty of God's creation, that they understand just how much responsibility we bear in our dominion over it. And let us remember that while we may have dominion over the earth, we are not God...this earth is His creation.

The world is not ours to mess up.

Photo by Mary King (me)

Crying Out

Any time I think I'm doing ok or am feeling a peace about our struggles with infertility, it hits me like a ton of bricks. A friend of mine recently found out he and his wife were pregnant and I was ok. I was actually genuinely happy about the news. Usually it takes me a bit to be ok after I go through a quiet grieving period. So I thought to myself, "terrific! It feels so awesome to be really happy for them!" And then yesterday hit me.

A couple of friends of ours began the adoption process for Guatemala a month after we had to cancel ours. They submitted their dossier in December, and I figured that at the rate we were going to get some things (and the fact that our social worker had moved out of state), we probably would have had our dossier submitted around the same time. They received their referral in January for a little boy, only a few days after he was born. They were in and out of PGN rather quickly and received "pink" a few weeks ago. Last week, they received the call that they had to be at the embassy in Guatemala today. A couple of days ago, on myspace, a bulletin was posted that they were in Guatemala and had their son. There were pictures of them with him in their arms, looking so happy. Today his visa was approved, and they take him home on Thursday.

Yesterday I was working out in the living room when it just all fell on me...and I just started sobbing, yelling out that it was supposed to be us, it was supposed to be my son in my arms and how can it be fair that we're left broken hearted so many times? I grabbed my Bible and just randomly started opening up to anywhere it would land and angrily said "You SHOW me! Show me that You will get me through this!!" I was mad and hurt. I looked at where the pages had opened up to and started reading out loud as much as I could through my sobs. I was reading the Psalms. And not just any Psalms, but they were specific Psalms on hearts in despair, Psalms that were crying out in emotional anguish...Psalms that started out that desperate but all ended with reminders of God's protection and deliverance. They were Psalms reminding me that people before me, before my time, had gone through heartbreak and emotional turmoil and yet God never forgot about them, He never let them go. In my time of need, my time of desperation, God answered my cries and my ranting and He did show me that He would get me through this.

I am happy for my friends who successfully adopted from Guatemala. I just didn't really expect it to hit me like it did. I am forever grateful to a loving and gracious Father who cares enough about me to hold me when I fall, completely broken, and give me reminders that He didn't lead me into a valley just to leave me stranded. My favorite Bible verse actually comes from the Psalms.
"Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning" Psalm 30:5
I don't necessarily believe that it means that I will one morning wake up and discover I am pregnant or that we can have a successful adoption. I believe that God is reminding me that one day, I will find joy in ANY direction He will lead us, whether or not that direction includes children. I may be weeping now, but I look forward to the day the morning arrives.