When we moved to Wisconsin, I got a map showing the wetlands of our county, and marked a spot at the highest concentration of marshes, swamps and bogs. I drove to that spot, looked for a realtor in the nearby village, and told him that Ruth and I wanted to buy a house on a marsh. What we wanted, I explained, was a place where a wetland would be our neighbor. The realtor was surprised: We said nothing about the kind of house we sought, just that it had to be on a wetland.
A few weeks later he showed us the place where we now live. We moved into our new house in springtime, amidst the wonder of the marsh coming alive with croaking and peeping sounds and the calls of geese and cranes. God’s care and masterly work were everywhere apparent! Our respect for this jewel in God’s creation—this wondrous place with all its vibrant life—brought all of us to make the important neighborly decision to care for it.
This message is adapted from “Neighborliness” written by Calvin DeWitt in the June 2004 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather magazine).
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