More than trash

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Opening the gate to my backyard, I step on these 2cm wide, circular, spiky seed pods.  *grimace*  One immediately wedges itself into my shoe!  Step, wobble, step, wobble.  *sigh*  I pry one seed pod out of my shoe... take a step... get another one gets stuck!  Grrrrrrrrr...  everything looks like a mess.  These seed pods drop small seeds and these paper-like seed casings all over the place.  Another tree drops these worm-like somethings all over coating the ground yellow.  Then there's the leaves!!!  Leaves in every nook and cranny... dry on top and wet on the layers hidden underneath.

Taking a look around, I'm overwhelmed!  Leaves, seed pods, pollen things, and then the weeds!  *grimace*  This is going to take forever to clean!  *sigh*

I grab a broom and start sweeping... pollen and paper seed casings smear everywhere.  I take a dustpan and start scooping the leaves and large round seed pods... kinda works.  Boring!  How about I try weeding?  There's already a huge mess all around me so I'll just throw the weeds behind me.  *smirk*

Cleaning the backyard feels like it's going to take forever... *grumble grumble*  Weather's hot... the sun's heat is pounding on my back... sweat causes little prickly sensations all over my skin.  Yuck!  I feel coated in sweat, dust, and pollen... is that a bug crawling on me?  *shudder*  I don't see anything.  =S

As I pull weeds out, I realize that seeds from last year are growing!  I've got 6 random carrots, 6 lanky tomato plants (don't know what variety), 2 green onions, more small potatoes than I can count, and lots of violets and other small flower plants from last year.  Yikes!  I thought that these plants would all die during the winter and that the seeds I planted late autumn were either all duds or sprouted and killed by the cold.  Why do I have new plants growing now?

Carefully removing all the weeds and trash dropped from the 3 different trees hanging over my backyard... I see earthworms, gross chubby bugs, spiders, and lots of ants.  *shudder*  However, beyond the bugs, weeds, and tree by-products, I find moist soft soil.  *puzzled*  How did this happen?  Last year, the ground was dry, super hard, mostly clay, and a pain to dig into!  What's different this year?

Hmmmmm... Oh yeah, the difference is garbage!  Last year I dumped moldy leftovers and shriveled veggies into the ground and buried them for compost.  I also got lazy raking the fallen leaves, bark, and random seed particles... those also got mixed in.  *smirk*  Guess a single year's worth of trash and bugs broke the particles down into fresh earth that helped counter the dense clay particles.  Hurray!!!

Lord Father in heaven, this world you created is amazing!  Even trash has it's uses.  I grumble at the garbage dropped by the trees surrounding my backyard... and yet, it's these very same tree left-overs that help to soften my soil and even keep newly sprouting seedlings warm during the random cold spells.  I complain about the weeds, but they actually helped protect my seedlings by providing moist soil near the surface where I planted the seeds.  Now that the backyard is clean, it looks a lot prettier!  But Lord, I also notice that the top inch of soil dries out in a days time, requiring more water to grow the shallow veggie seeds I planted.

God, you've created many wonderful things that I normally don't appreciate... bugs, fallen tree particles, weeds, food trashed by mold... and yet, each has its own purpose.  What took me 4 hours to clean-up will result in even more time to maintain and more water used now that the natural ground-covering is removed.  Please open my eyes, Lord God, to see more and more of your blessings both in my life and the world around me.

Thank you, Lord, that I have the opportunity too see the world with fresh eyes.  Thank you that I have this opportunity to enjoy the sun, get a good work-out, and watch seedlings grow.  Thank you, Father God, for the ability to appreciate and see the worth of what I normally consider worthless.  Lord, keep changing me to see the beauty and purpose in all of your creations, not just in what I want or like to see. 
 
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.