Portland - with Mt. Hood in the background - a green city
Good Day, God!
Last Friday I heard David Brooks (a conservative columnist) say that America needed a Massive Infrastructure Upgrade. Then, listening to America the Beautiful (verse 4) on the 4th of July I was struck by the image of Alabaster Cities!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
I was taken by the idea of Cities Undimmed by Human Tears — because what really needs rebuilding are Human Lives. So, I got to thinking, God, about JOBS — jobs with pre-training — jobs that bring hope. Hopelessness is such an evil, God, and it breeds from one generation to the next.
I love the idea of helping people learn and work — doing MEANINGFUL work like rebuilding homes for their neighbors. (In one plant in China, workers making high tech products feel so hopeless that they are committing suicide. In America, drugs and alcohol may act as a slow form of suicide.)
Portland, Ore., seems to have the right idea, God. They are not just building a Green City, they are building a City for Human Beings.
I was going to say, God, that You might nudge our President! We could really use a BIG VISION right now. But, the truth is, these ideas can flow UP! Each of us can do something! And it doesn’t take a very large group to make a difference. So nudge, ME! Nudge all of us ordinary folk! Help us take our Faith and Love and use them to create HOPE.
Story teller,
A Moment with God 
Hi, thanks for sharing