I Wonder...April 24th - "Earth Care Sunday"





I Wonder: April 24, 2022:
"Earth Care Sunday"

I would like for you to take an imaginary journey with me. If you would, please close your eyes for a few minutes. Think about a place outside that you like to go to. There are so many beautiful places that it’s hard for me to choose. Will you choose somewhere in the mountains – somewhere you’ve been hiking? Or on a beach hearing the waves rush onto the shore? I have seen some wonderful waterfalls – maybe you’d like to be there. Or a desert with the cactus all around. Growing up we spent a lot of times in the woods. This time of the year we would be watching for mushrooms to pop up. I hope you are feeling relaxed and comfortable and enjoying this place in your mind.

Now imagine what it would look like ruined – trees cut down, cactus dying, there are no animals, the waterfalls are just a trickle of water, there is trash all around – wrappers, plastic bags stuck everywhere.

What can you do to clean it up, to make it as beautiful as it was before? Can you pick up the trash, plant some trees? Can you talk to other people and get them to help?

When I was young, a woman names Rachel Carson wrote a book to let everyone know that we needed to change the way we treated the Earth. One of the things she said was, “In nature, nothing exists alone.”

Jane Goodall, the woman who worked with the apes, said, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.”

You and I are a part of this wonderful world that God created and gave to us. The way we treat it and the things we do affect everything around us. We can make it worse or we can make it better.  

Picture your favorite place again. The sky is blue with fluffy white clouds floating above. Everything is green and growing again. The birds and animals are enjoying it, too. It has been cleaned up and restored because you and people like you care about it and are taking care of it.


I Wonder . . . .

  • where your favorite place outdoors is

  • how you feel when you are in your favorite place

  • what ideas you have for taking care of our Earth

  • who you like to have with you when you are outdoors

  • what you would do if you went to your favorite place and it was a mess


Prayer

Dear God, Thank you so much for this wonderful world that you created and gave us. Please guide us to think about what we do and how it affects your world. Help us to care for it so that the people who come after us will be able to enjoy it too! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

Thoughts for Tots

Caring for God's Beautiful Creation


Jokes for Joy

What kind of plant grows on your hand?

A palm tree

 

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