Caring for the Sick

     Having been sick for a week after Christmas, I missed my daily hikes in the woods. Sitting around the house I had a lot of time for thinking and meditation. I started thinking about the animals in the woods: What do they do when they are sick? Who takes care of them when they are sick or injured? Who insures that they have adequate food? I recently saw a coyote walking down the trail on three legs, after apparently injuring his foot. I wonder if he recovered sufficiently to hunt again. I saw a buck dear with most of his vision blocked by some sort of rope and cloth caught in his horns. I wonder if he was able to free himself before being caught by some predator. While working in my back yard I recently head a fawn bleating. I walked to the edge of my deck, overlooking the woods, and watched for a few minutes. A young deer came tearing across an opening with a coyote in hot pursuit, not more than 20 yards behind him. I could hear them crashing through the brush for several minutes. I wonder if the fawn survived the attack.



     There are many animal rescue organizations that help rehabilitate injured animals that are captured, but what about the rest of injured animals in the woods? I decided to check the Bible to see what God has to say about caring for animals and nature.
     I was surprised at the number of scriptures that talk about nature. Evidently God really cares for the things of nature. Matthew talks about two sparrows being sold for a farthing, or ¼ a penny, but mentions that not one of them shall fall to the ground without God’s knowledge or consent. (Matt 10:29). Matthew also challenges us to: “behold the fowls of the air, who don’t sow, reap, or gather into barns; yet our heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6:26).

Matthew also tells us to consider the lilies of the field, how: “they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon is all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”.

       It was reassuring to see multiple scriptures telling us of our heavenly Father’s knowledge and concern for nature. What was really exciting, was to see the comparisons in several of the scriptures, about how much more God is knowledgeable and caring of us. Matthew 6:30 says: “if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you”. Luke talks about God being aware of every sparrow falling to the ground and then tells us: “but even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows”.
     So the next time you are sick or lonely, just remember, God is watching over you and is just as near as a whispered prayer!