The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom... During his "fourscore and more years" of life in America, Vernon Gilbert has watched the decline of his beloved country with sorrow and dismay. He attributes this decay to a rampant disregard for the ways of God. In the Bible, the action of leaves that wither is mentioned over forty times, and in each reference the connotation is to something undesirable. This deterioration of the basic fabric of our society, this withering of our leaf, has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past generation. Anyone who cannot see the withering of the vine of our great nation hasn't been watching what is going on. We have been sitting down, waiting for the government to take care of our every whim, and we are living off our good credit established by our forefathers. We are in fast decline. Our leaf is withering. Never the pessimist, Gilbert still finds reason for hope. The God who parted the Red Sea for His chosen people can, if He so desires, turn the tide for our beloved Republic. We must humble ourselves, pray, seek His presence and guidance, and turn from our wicked ways. We can, as individuals, live a good example to those around us and pray for our leaders to repent and look to our Creator for their model of managing the affairs of our nation. Author Bio: Vernon Gilbert is a life-long Texan who became a Christian as a young teen. He has been happily married to his wife Shirley for over sixty years. The two started a small business in Midland, Texas, the year they wed. That company continues today under the leadership of their three sons, one daughter, and a number of their twenty-five grandchildren. Gilbert considers his greatest earthly blessing to be the good name of his family and their business.