Paradise Has Termites!

     Duane and I are visiting family members on what we thought was an Alabama island paradise with swaying palms and white-sand beaches strewn with shells. But then a pesky cockroach showed up in our flatware drawer. And we dodged biting ants when hiking. And a swarm of termites slipped through a crack under our bedroom window and infested the room. Even after swatting, smashing, and vacuuming I found termite body parts inside my laptop the next day.     
     It’s paradise lost. Humanity out of harmony with nature. And I think about how much worse it is in parts of the world where malnutrition, filthy water, and pollution rob people of health. And where justice and mercy have washed down the gutter of corruption. On this planet, we live in the “shadowlands,” writer C.S. Lewis said, a dim reflection of what the world is meant to be.    
     Do you ever relish the world’s beauty, yet ache about what is marred? About the rawness of racism, the horror of hatred? I do. But I’m hopeful. In “Ecclesiastes," one of my favorite books, an ancient teacher wrote that the Creator of this world has lodged eternity in each person’s heart. We long for the paradise that’s lost. But it’s coming again! Our yearning is well expressed in this innocent song here I invite you to listen to.
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      Image from Insight Pest Solutions.