{"id":15027,"date":"2026-10-18T20:45:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T00:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=15027"},"modified":"2026-10-18T20:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T00:46:28","slug":"taking-care-a-creation-hymn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=15027","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care – A Creation Hymn"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I want to write a Creation Hymn<\/a> tonight, and first let me tell you the different threads going into it.<\/p>\n

For a couple weeks now, I’ve been reading proofs from my literary agent, Maureen E. Wise, of a book of Creation Care devotionals she wrote, to help get last eyes out for any typos. (I met Maureen because she wrote Strength for my Path<\/a><\/em>, a book of devotionals related to hiking.) Her book has already gotten me looking at Creation with fresh eyes, and being convicted about the need to care for it.<\/p>\n

The second thread is that yesterday I attended a conference at my church called “Lead with Love” about social justice and things we can do. In a session led by someone from the Piedmont Environmental Council<\/a>, I learned that Virginia has – by far – the most data centers in the world. Yes, that’s compared to any other state in the United States, but also compared to any other country. As she told us, if there’s an arms race going on, we’ve won.<\/p>\n

Now, the data centers built here in the 1990s are “cute” compared to the data centers that are being planned and that are already being built. Unfortunately, they will potentially require double or triple the amount of energy as is currently being produced by the entire Virginia power grid. And that’s only one part of the environmental impact if we let these be built unchecked. (They don’t support an end to all data centers. They do support a pause to work out reasonable regulations and to care for our environment.)<\/p>\n

The third thread is doing my walks at this time of year through the trees on the hill across the pond from my condo. Here’s a picture I took tonight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, individual trees are beginning to turn bright colors, but overall the trees are turning much later than in the past. Since I moved here 13 years ago, I discovered that as the sun goes down, the sun lights up the bright leaves like they’re on fire. It’s not my imagination – I’ve already seen Facebook memories from this time of year with the leaves a blaze of stunning color. The last few years, I’ve found myself making excuses for the leaves – not a lot of rain this year, it hasn’t been very cold,… With the temperature hitting 89 degrees just a few days ago, it’s starting to seem like maybe it’s simply climate change. I really hope not, but it worries me.<\/p>\n

So I want to write a psalm about Creation. Most of the Creation Hymns in the Bible are simply songs of praise, so this may take on some aspects of a lament. May we care for this wondrous world God has entrusted to us.<\/p>\n

Creation Care<\/p>\n

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it;
\n the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1)<\/p>\n

“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
\n where morning dawns, where evening fades,
\n you call forth songs of joy.
\nYou care for the land and water it;
\n you enrich it abundantly.
\nThe streams of God are filled with water
\n to provide the people with grain,
\n for so you have ordained it.” (Psalm 65:8-9)<\/p>\n

Lord, you made the earth
\n and entrusted it to us.
\nYou water it, you shine the sun on it;
\n you give us the resources to care for it.
\nYour world is beautiful;
\n every year, the very leaves glow.
\nYou didn’t have to put so much wonder
\n into the very fabric of the world.
\nEvery day, even the simple turning of the earth
\n makes fabulous colors in the sky.
\nBoth storms and sunshine
\n fill the very air with loveliness.<\/p>\n

Creator, the earth belongs to you –
\n help us care for your Creation.
\nYou provide water to sustain us;
\n help us stop those who would squander it.<\/p>\n

The plans for devastation
\n without regard for consequences
\nleave me frightened,
\n make me discouraged.<\/p>\n

Help me to appreciate the wonders of your creation
\n while they are still around me –
\nand may I be motivated
\n by the way Creation sings your glory
\nto do my part
\n to speak up for Creation.
\nMay we as humankind be good stewards
\n of the magnificent world in our trust.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I want to write a Creation Hymn tonight, and first let me tell you the different threads going into it. For a couple weeks now, I’ve been reading proofs from my literary agent, Maureen E. Wise, of a book of Creation Care devotionals she wrote, to help get last eyes out for any typos. (I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creation-hymns","category-praying-with-the-psalmists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15027"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15032,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15027\/revisions\/15032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}