But the grass is still green...

I've been on a road trip and have not had the opportunity to marinate in the abyssmal news out of Wall Street like many are these days. One guy summed it up as he passed me in a lobby having just watched a breaking news report about the financial crisis on the lobby TV. "F***in' Armageddon!" he muttered.

His crude remark was something of an unwelcome intrusion to my train of thought. I had just driven down a stretch of highway on a crisp, sunny morning in southern Iowa. The trees were beginning to take on the hues of their full autumn splendor. It was a warm enough day that I even cracked open the driver's side window on my pickup. I felt as if Mother Nature was giving me a hug. Had I not had a schedule to keep, I might have driven on for the sheer joy of it.

I couldn't help contrasting the tranquil beauty I was experiencing with the anguish I'm seeing on the faces of bankers, fund managers and politicians whose reckless, perhaps even criminal, shennanigans have caught up with them. It reminded me again that Jesus knew what he was talking about when he told his followers that earthly treasures are subject to theft, decline and loss. Better to seek first all that God is about. Invest in the heavenly agenda, so to speak--spiritually, emotionally and literally.

My little pension fund has taken a huge hit like everyone else's. I could get upset about it if I allowed that to take over my thoughts. But the reality that captured my heart today is that here in the heartland the sun still shines, the birds still sing and the grass is still green and growing. Thanks for the reassurance, God.