“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”  Psalm 19:1         

Growing up on a farm we seldom traveled far beyond the town we lived near.  Lift on the farm as a kid was helping in ways we could to care for the farm animals, the field and garden crops.  There were nature walks through the fields which took us to the woods and creek where we picked wild berries and flowers along the way.  And night skies filled with stars.  Looking back, I now recognize God’s hand and beauty in all I took for granted as a kid.

As an adult I have been able to travel to different areas of our United States and see beyond the farm so much more of God’s creations.  To Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota where I saw God’s beauty in every season.  I loved spring when I was lucky enough to be able to wander through the woods at our lake cabin and see the early wild flowers show up and bloom.  I was fascinated by how some pushed through snow lingering on the ground.  The fiddle heads of the ferns before they opened their lacy stems. In the summer, more wild flowers and grasses appeared through the woods and open fields and along the lake banks.  With fall came the glorious colors of leaves changing, the grass and weeds along the roadways and in the woodlands, too.  Soon after fall came winter, hopefully with a beautiful snow cover which gave yet another new look to the pine trees and trees that were now leafless, the tall grasses and weeds now bent over with snow.  Not only in Wisconsin and Minnesota have I been fortunate to witness to all the beauty and wonder, but also in travels to Alaska and Colorado,

California and New York, the Grand Canyon, Custer State Park and Yellow Stone National Park.  And right here in Hudson,  when driving down Second street in the fall, the beautiful red orange leaves on trees, and in the winter along the Lakefront Park trails the magnificent swans, geese and ducks who stop along the frozen edges and open water of the St. Croix River.

Recognizing that all this beauty which comes with every changing season as the work of God’s hands, makes my travels so much more meaningful.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, Jesus, thank You for all this beauty in the world for us to see and enjoy each day.  Help us to recognize and be grateful that all this wonder from the stars and skies to the lands and waters were put here by You for us to enjoy.  Amen.

Jane Betz