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Dedicated to the Preservation and Restoration of the Whole of Creation
Humans - Animals - Environment
"And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.   And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31)

Flowering Trees and Shrubs of Sleepy Hollow Lake
- Wild Rose, Small Pink -
(click on the images to enlarge)

There comes that day in early June, when Mary and I seem to exclaim in unison, "Wow!  The wild roses are in bloom."  Most of the small wild roses at Sleepy Hollow Lake and the surrounding area are white, or white with a slight pink blush, but every so often this pink variety catches our attention.  It's as though God is saying to us, "Because you appreciated my white roses, let Me show you My pink ones."

In our ministry to help make this a more sensitive, loving and compassionate world, we also encounter the most horribly cruel and inhumane treatment of animals that anyone could imagine.  The torture, pain, suffering and death that occurs every day in the animal agriculture industry, particularly on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, can drive a sensitive person into a deep depression, if it were not for these times when we can stop and "smell the roses", and come to realize that our efforts are not in vain, and that we must continue our peaceful endeavors.  These are the thankful and quiet times when we can rest in the Lord, and then go forth refreshed.   It's very much like going forth with the assurance that the buds will open to reveal more roses, but unlike the roses which wither, the Lord and His encouragement is always present.

When we "take the time to smell the roses", we also should be able to appreciate the wonder of God's creation.  If we don't blind ourselves to the truths before us, we can smell the perfume; we can see the buds; we can see the unfolding petals and the stamens balled-up around the pistil; and we can see the magnificence of the the fully developed flowers.  And, if we do not blind ourselves to these truths, then we should also recognize the pain and suffering in this world and do everything possible to put an end to it.

Everything in our environment presents us with something wonderful to behold.  Each type of plant is different from others, and within each type, each stem and leaf and bud and flower present further uniqueness, just as every person and animal has his or her own individual appearance and personality.  Isn't it time we begin appreciating what God has given us instead of destroying our environment, our fellow creatures and each other?  We believe it is!

Our "macho" world is more interested in watching wrestlers bash each other over the head with folding chairs than it is in watching the beauty of the wild rose and God's other creations.  The world calls us to take up a weapon and kill an animal instead of picking up a camera to preserve moments such as this one of a small pink wild rose bush. 

For far too long a time, unscrupulous people have been trying to convince us that the evil and cruel things we do are actually good.  If someone deliberately causes pain or suffering to a fellow human being or to an animal, it is evil, and the time has come for us to recognize this fact, and put an end to it.  It's time we begin to praise the gentle, kind and compassionate acts we witness, and follow these examples.  It's truly time for all of us to pause to "smell the roses" and profit from the experience.  It's time for us to make Isaiah's words a reality:   "They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (11:9)

| Flowering Trees and Shrubs of SHL | Art and Photos |

Photos by Frank L. Hoffman unless otherwise noted.
If  you would like to contribute a photo and/or comment to these series, please contact;
Frank L. Hoffman flh@all-creatures.org

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The themes of these All Creatures Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory cover such subjects as - creation, earth, environment, ecology, plants, flowers, birds, trees, creature, animal, animals, fine arts, watercolor, painting, paintings, pic, pics, pictures, photos, vegetation, restoration, preservation, vegetarian, vegan, cruelty free, love, joy, peace, kindness, compassion, humor, poetry, quotations, lifestyle, Bible, recipes, sermons, stories, human, animal rights, God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Holy Spirit, Jewish, Christian, Judeo Christian, health, ethical living, meditation, sleepy, hollow, lake, shrubs, bushes,