Richard Hollerman

Recently we have had drawn to our attention the wilderness and woods in the country and the multitude of ways that this has affected the make-up of the world. What do we mean by this?

I don’t know but some may consider me a city person (since I live in Fort Worth, Texas) but I grew up in Pennsylvania, in a small town, 40 miles from Pittsburgh. Thus I have known both worlds—the wilderness and woods and the city life. When I was younger, I enjoyed going to the near-by “woods.” I might sit on a tree stump and would see a deer go by through the woods. I enjoyed trapping and collecting animals, such as opossums, mice, squirrels, chip monks, skunks, rabbits, raccoons, and groundhogs.

Or I thought that I might (on the other hand) be near the city and take in the woods nearby. I thought that I would have a large dog but this never worked out. I couldn’t afford the dog food and had no time for this either. In fact, I renounced any pets about age 14 or 15 since all of my time was into the Scriptures. Now, I live near a duck pond, which is about 6 tenths of a mile around, and I view the squirrels, ducks, and geese. I used to walk in the dark nearby for many years. Then a month or 6 weeks ago Used to go about 7 AM when it began to get light out.

I now live near a city of one million, but it surely is not concentrated and very urbanized. In fact, it is somewhat spread out and we surely need a car to go anywhere. So, as you can see, I live in an area where I am close to a lake, and I grew up near a rural area. For a while I lived on a farm, with a few steer, but this lasted not more than a year or two. At another time I lived in a used mobile home some distance from a small town with a population of about 10,000. Thus, I have known various living arrangements. It all served to condition me and lead me to the way that I live now.

As I have used the pictures on the website, we find various scenarios and rural scenes. But we know that this is not the full story. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a very small community in Galilee, but this doesn’t mean that this was good or bad. Jerusalem was a rather large city but many countries in Israel were not. God is working or was working in them all.

As for the pictures, yes, there still would be a rural part of me. I still long for the “wide open spaces” and the areas where animals roam, the places where one can find freedom of movement. Yet I also know that God wants us to serve him, according to the so-called Great Commission, and this requires people. We are to proclaim the good news to one and all. We are to tell others about the Lord Jesus and His will for them. We are to find fulfillment in Jesus and His ways.

Further, we know that God calls us to be in contact with others and to meet with people, daily (if possible), a

d that this is an ongoing situation. See 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, as well as Acts 2 and 10. God does want us to be in contact with others who have an equal commitment to Jesus and His way of life. Do you see what we mean?