So(ul)journ!

“The Lord God took the man and put him into the garden to dress it and to keep it.” – Genesis 2:15

Left to its own care, creation is quite content to return to its chaotic origins.

We live on half an acre on the side of a hill overlooking the town of Westminster. When we were looking for a house ten years ago, Jacki and Sandy, our realtor, quickly dismissed this property because the house sat on a severe hillside, ranging from a ten to forty-five-degree pitch. It was going to prove to be a lawn-mowing nightmare. The yard—if you can call it a yard—was full of invasive weed trees and plants such as the dreaded chrysanthemum weed, poison ivy, and a climbing vine that was choking the forty-foot trees spread throughout the property.

It took the better part of a year to tame a portion of the backyard, and over the years, we have managed to completely clear out the space. Now, grass has been planted, and it is slowly spreading throughout.

It doesn’t take long for the garden to seemingly return to its chaotic origins, though. After being away for two weeks, we returned to find that the grass, watered by the remnants of a couple of tropical storms, had seemingly leapt out of the ground. I had hoped the yard would have entered a late summer dormant period, as it often does in mid to late summer. In anticipation of our extended time away, I decided to severely cut back the lawn in the hopes that we wouldn’t return to a movie scene from “Jumanji”.

It took the better part of three days, but we now have a lawn that is pretty short. Eighteen months ago, we purchased a rechargeable battery mower, which can normally mow about a third of the property when fully charged. When the grass is eight to ten inches in length, the mower has to be recharged more often. Hence, the three days of mowing intermixed with weed whacking, collecting fallen tree limbs and branches, and hacking away at excessively overgrown bushes surrounding the house. There is something oddly satisfying about surveying the manicured lawn and cleared space. For a short time, order is restored, and life seems tranquil.

All this talk of lawn and yard work may seem about as exciting as watching grass grow. I suppose a cultivated garden could be a metaphor for life. I’m not feeling so philosophical today. Rather, this is a simple reflection and call to care for the creation in ways that extend beyond mowing, whacking, and hacking. Several years ago, we installed solar panels on our home. The small move to a rechargeable battery mower is a similar decision—to use renewable energy rather than create more CO2 through a gasoline-powered mower. Our next vehicle will be a hybrid.  The mantra of Earth Day is to think globally and act locally. Small changes make a difference, especially if we all make small changes that result in caring for our world.

What are the ways you are making small changes that result in your caring for your world? What are you cultivating and nurturing so you and others can thrive in our world?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below and help us all grow as we attempt to bring order out of chaos.