"I lift up my eyes to the hills..."

Lent has begun.

I'm reading Becca Stevens' The Path of Justice: A Walking Bible Study.  It's a series of short readings and meditations inviting one into nature.  Walking paths to God.

The emphasis is on walking. Rain or shine.  In circles or straight paths. A time to think about the the Scriptures and let them sink in to, to contemplate God's creation while walking through it.

The readings this first week come from Amos, who talks about justice and fairness flowing like a river that never runs dry. And how we are accountable for our actions, and to try to live more justly.  It's not just about being just in terms of God's people, but about justice in nature. Our island home.

"But let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry." (Amos 5:24)

For this second day of this first week of Lent, Stevens offers these words from Psalm 121: I lift up my eyes to the hills..."

I live in the hills. The hills are both above and below me.  After a wintry winter, there are signs of spring on the surrounding hills.  Lenten Roses, Daffodils.  Buds abound in the woods.

I trust that "with host of daffodils to show, that spring was there under the snow!"  May Sarton, Blizzard.

So, too, I trust that my help comes from the LORD.

And so, too, I recognize my responsibility in doing justice in nature.  Giving MY help by tending to that which was created for me.  I've given up plastic bags.  It's time to give up plastic bottles.  It's a start.