Arbor Week & the Rainbow Promise

¹⁹ I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
   the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
   the plane and the pine together,
²⁰ so that all may see and know,
   all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
   the Holy One of Israel has created it.

                              Isaiah 41:19-20

This is National Arbor Week in the United States, which means we are all invited to be mindful of the importance of trees. I'm glad to celebrate trees, although ours are still hunkered down against the cold and snow. I like that this poster winner from 2014 and one from this year feature the rainbow. We began Lent this season with the Rainbow Promise or covenant from Genesis. While I can't picture trees lumbering onto the ark, I'm willing to make promises to care for trees.



I have written before about Tu Bishvat which is the New Year for the trees which takes place early in February. This ancient Jewish festival has taken a modern environmental twist, with an emphasis on the importance of trees as lungs for the planet. A couple of decades ago we were all worked up about clear-cutting in the Amazon basin, but as is often the case we moved on to other causes. The fact is that forests continue to be razed in South America and in Malaysia and in many other parts of the world.

This week I'm not going to fret about deforestation, as important as the issue is. I'm going to celebrate God's gift of trees, the sounds and sights of them. I think I'll tell the all the shivering trees in my back yard that this is their week. They may not be impressed.

Any comments about the trees in your life?



the importance of trees as lungs for the planet.