Random Thoughts on a Random Shot

 

On the mornings when I am not feeling up to the climb back out of the creek bottoms, I take Bella down to the old sawmill on top of the hill and just let her run and chase squirrels and whatever rodents that are around in the piles down there.  I stand in a small flattened place and do exercises or just stand and pray.  This is my view looking slightly to the left of where I stand.

The fold, ravine, holler, or whatever you would term it, between the two hills there leads down to a pond at the bottom of the ridge I am standing on. Years ago it never would hold water; it'd fill up during a hard rain, but it would drain in a few days.  It is holding water now, or had been.  We have been short of rainfall the past few months, since this past summer, so it is really low now.  

The green field below is where Gary has been cutting hay every summer since he quit the dairy.  Depending on rainfall he will get anywhere from 15 to 30 bales of hay.  

On the ridge in the distance, to the far right of the picture, maybe even a bit out of the frame, is where the old Howard homestead is.  It becomes more and more decrepit every year.  Last winter the west half of the barn fell down.  I expect this winter will be the end of the house and the east side of the barn.  

In the center of the frame is a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, as it were.  As I was taking this particular photo on this particular outing I was contemplating what effort it would take to eliminate every cedar tree within the circumference of oh...say...thirty miles.  Ha.  This time of year the cedar trees are responsible for a great deal of the allergens shed into the air.  Many people, including myself, are beset with varying degrees of allergy issues.  

As I was having those thoughts of eliminating the source of my sinus irritations, it also occurred to me that there is probably a great deal of wildlife that depends on the cedars.  They tend to grow in clumps and windbreaks for deer and other wildlife, not to mention perches for birds in harsh winter weather.  I used to believe that cedars weren't native to Missouri, but they are.  I think they just used to be cut down more extensively in decades past.

How often, in other areas of life, do we want to eliminate things that vex us but fail to think about the consequences to other people or situations?  I would be happy to eliminate all the roundabouts in the area.  But surely they exist for a practical reason, right?

I'd also like to eliminate any severe winter weather, but there again, it exists for a reason, I know.  

This side of heaven I guess we will never understand why annoying things exist,why grief and hatred and illnesses and all must continue.

The past couple of months we've been studying the book of Revelation.  There are many, many things I don't understand in there either.  It used to scare me. But the more I study it, the more reassuring I find it.  There will come an end to all evil and suffering. The Lord will reign triumphant.  One day I look forward to seeing the green rainbow in God's throne room.  

I hope you will be there too.  

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