Tipping the Bottle.

 Tipping the Bottle.

 

Oldest child has been on my case for quite some time to use reusable plastic drinking containers rather than buying disposable plastic water bottles. And he is right, of course. Each of us has the responsibility to care for the environment, even if it means drinking water from a reusable cup or container. Scientists have come up with a solvent that can clean as much as 99 percent of the plastics from our water. But they still have no way to rid the earth of the billions of tons of plastic in landfills and in the ocean. It makes me feel guilty to think about how many cases of water this old woman has used over several years. No matter what our water here in WF tastes like, it would still be better to use city water rather than buy a case of water in plastic bottles. And no, there is no way a five-gallon jug of purified water could be used around this house. Think about the weight of one of those bottles when it is full! Daughter gets her water delivered, but that doesn’t mean she puts it on the stand where it is used to refill their bottles and cups. For sure, those big water bottles are heavier than a case of water!

 

Reading lately about the number of birds and fish that have been killed due to the rising temps in the waters of the oceans is pretty disheartening. And that does not even begin to count for all the oil spills and other chemical disasters the oceans have encountered. Just the wind storms and assorted weather-related disasters have put some species on the edge of the endangered lists. We may eventually find that the monarch butterflies will be a creature from our past. Sad, just sad.

 

Sometimes it just seems as if the world’s problems are just too many and too impossible to remedy. And the same holds true for mankind as much as for the other creatures of the planet. But what mankind does—or doesn’t do—tends to affect all of the life on this little ball in the heavens. If we can do even one thing to alleviate one of the problems of pollution and degradation of the earth and its creatures, then surely, we should be willing to do that one thing. At the same time, if we can smile or be kind to even one other person around us, then let us do that as well. We may not prevent a terrorist from killing, kidnapping, or drugging another person, but if we stand up for what is right in our own neighborhoods, that is better than sitting on our hands and expecting things to change without our efforts.

 

My daddy loved to find the ways of the pioneers and discover how he could make them work in his own lifetime. He milked a cow, fed chickens, dug ditches to redirect water, built his own rifles, cut wood to make things of beauty, and even learned how to make things like gun powder just from his research at the library. Once he learned how to make lye soap and insisted Mom use it on his old oily work clothes. After he broke out in a rash, he changed his mind, but still, he tried doing things the way they used to be done long before Dove or Tide soaps were invented. It doesn’t mean we have to go back to hand washing our clothes to make this a better world, but it certainly can’t hurt anything for us to be aware of the chemicals in the soaps we use and attempt to use soaps that are less polluting or less carcinogenic. Even one small step could make a difference somewhere down the line.

 

Meanwhile, we have those who need our active and fervent prayers: Zeke (recovery and healing), Tami (overcoming another form of cancer), Michelle (recovery from knee replacement), Helen (shingles), and the family of Angel with covid. Let us remember to praise God for His many blessings each day. Love is always with us, but especially when we pray for others.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.