Judgment is Near

As the wilderness goes, so go we

Photo by author.

“Judgment is NEAR,” screamed up at me in blurred pink chalk on the side of the greenway. Near was spelled out in all caps as if to underscore just how close this judgment was. This warning was coupled with something about turning to Jesus and closed with the reference John 14:6.

I’ve been walking this greenway for about four years now and these pink chalk messages are new. Their arrival coincides with the razing of ten or more acres of older growth forest, top soil scraped away, mycelial network damaged all to put up rows and rows of soulless square houses replete with scrawny, non-native trees as part of their “landscaping.” 

It took me a while to walk that section of the greenway again. It used to feel like a magical forest. Now there’s still a patch of forest on one side, but on the other side, only a few feet of trees stand between the path and the houses. They even took out trees between the houses and the stream, a place they couldn’t even build, but instead plante…