ORIGINAL ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©

This painting was done several years ago, shortly after a tornado tore through the city of Minneapolis.  An entire rookery was destroyed, except for one lone survivor. God shows us, even in the darkest hours, there is beauty. He turns dark into light. He gives hope to the hopeless, He reins over all of His creation. He is always with us. He helps us survive.

He sat majestically in his tattered nest, surveying the remnants of his former home.

A tornado ripped through the neighborhood the night before, splitting trees in two,

Uprooting some and destroying hundreds of nests in the rookery.

This Great Blue Heron survived the turmoil – the devastating wind –

The fierce torrential rain.

Now he sits, staring out over the destruction below.

Many of his friends have vanished or died.

The aging bird was spared, remaining behind and lonely.

Would he be able to pick up the pieces of his former life?

Would his life ever be the same?

If God’s eye is on the sparrow, He certainly would provide for this king of the river.

This majestic – almost prehistoric – champion will rebuild day by day, with the help of his Creator,

But that day he was simply a survivor –

Crushed by the elements, yet hopeful.

God formed this earth from nothing. He designed a perfect place for his creatures to live and thrive. When sin entered the world, the beauty was tarnished. Each day it devolves back into chaos. We have made it so. Let’s return to the One who graciously allows us to have the earth to care for. We have been given that responsibility. With His help alone, we can restore it. It will never be as it was in the beginning, but we can see to it that it is available for future generations. In the meantime, we can look ahead to a perfect paradise in heaven.