Yeah Earth Day!

Greetings friends and Happy Earth Day!

In the wise words of my friend Ginnie, "Every day is Earth Day!" It's quite challenging to keep that in the forefront of your mind each day. I read the Lorax to my students today. It's one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books. It is the tale of our dear friend the Once-ler. You see, the Once-ler was a greedy man who moved to a beautiful place with beautiful Truffula Trees. The Truffula trees had Truffula tufts softer than silk. Soon the Once-ler was cutting down all the trees to make beautiful and multipurpose Thneeds (See the picture above). Before you know it, the Once-ler had built huge factories to produce his Thneeds to meet every one's demands because, after all, everyone needs a thneed, right? Eventually, you guessed it, he had successfully cut down all the trees and polluted the beautiful place he once loved with the dark, dank smog of his factories. In the mean time, all the wonderful critters and creatures were forced to leave because of the destruction of their dear Truffula trees. The title character, the Lorax, tries to warn the Once-ler of his deeds, but he pays not attention, and alas, the Lorax must leave as well. He leaves behind one message for the Once-ler. A word: UNLESS. When someone comes to the Once-ler to hear the tale of the Lorax, he finally gets the message. He sends the messenger on his way with a Truffula seed. Unless you or I make a difference or take a stand to change things, the world will continue to grow dark and ugly. Ok- so this is a story about deforestation, but let's expand this idea. Each of us in our own way contribute to the beauty of our world and we are called to be good stewards of what we have been given. This message transcends Earth Day and the message of reduce, reuse, & recycle. We are all so consumed with what we want and think we need. Pretty soon we're a runaway train out of control so fixed on ourselves we are blind to the outside world. We don't see the devastation we leave in our path until it seems too late...the good news is it's never too late. It's that simple. In researching organizations established to serve the people of Africa, I was so encouraged and humbled by how many were started by one person. One person who said unless I do this, people will continue to be in need without hope. The hope we are given through the One who made us is a gift that, despite our own limitations, allows us to do great things for His glory. Whether it is going to Africa, becoming a Big Sister or Big Brother, initiating a recycling program at your school or workplace, or random acts of kindness, remember the message of the Lorax. Unless. It's scary navigating foreign territory, but with God all things are possible.

PS-This was not at all what I planned on updating today, but I hope this message is an encouragement to you. =)

Peace out,

Sarah