This year I am planning on planting and growing some plants in our backyard on Reedland Street. Maybe, there will be some on the porch. This is the first time I will be planting a garden on my own (and maybe with some help from my housemates). Here's a little list of some of the plant life to expect:
- calendula (a gift from a friend)
- swiss chard
- tomatoes (of course!)
- lavender (for sweet smells and tea and maybe homemade ice cream)
- pinto beans (for fun-zies)
- a plant that can repel mosquitoes (whatever that turns out to be)
- sweet pea
- sunflowers
It's still considered winter here, so, I am beginning growing things inside our home.
Growing things is really important to me. Plant life and nature are very important to me because it is beautiful and offers so much. It is where I find rest. It is something in which communicates to me the tender and caring voice of the Father who created and loves the universe and you and me and the people and animals we can't see, because they might live far away. I am moved by how so much of Scripture paints stories and ideas with images from nature and agriculture, including the parables of Jesus.
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| Because... I love chickens. And I don't own this photo. |
I was particularly encouraged this weekend being able to hear from a group at
the Justice Conference about care for the creation. They were pitched right next to our Mission Year booth for about half the conference. They are called
A Rocha, and one of the international representatives of this group, Peter Harris, shared about why Christians should care about the environment It seems like often, Christians can be the last people to care about the environment especially us in the United States.
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| CALENDULA. It's edible. And medicinal. And, I don't own this photo. |
However, we should be encouraged to care about the earth, we should be among a group of people who care the most, because G-d made it all and saw that it was good, even before human beings came into the scene. We were given the mandate to look over the Creation, because it is good and it shows that G-d is good. And so, I want to look over G-d's creation, because I love Him, I love the One revealed through Jesus, and the world that He made. G-d provides so much nourishment of mind and body through his creation. Maybe, we have a hard time seeing that in the United States, because our American life style has an indirect relationship with the earth as opposed to those groups of people who depend on the rivers, the animals, the plants; they see and interact with it all directly everyday. Maybe with the abundance of shopping malls and factories, we forget that that which we have has come from the good earth G-d has made.
As one person, there isn't much I can do by myself. I can't ignore, but, at the same time, I cannot save the planet. But, I can change things, little by little. I am burdened by the large amounts of trash that litter our parks and streets in Southwest Philly, including our little block on Reedland Street. I am burdened by the fact that it's easier to find junk food than a fresh, bright plump tomato in the city. I am burdened by how uncommon flowers are found.
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| A container garden in urban Mexico. I don't own this picture. |
I want to plant things to bring a little light to my life. And maybe, it can be a little light to that of my neighbors, too. Maybe, planting and growing can be something we can do and enjoy together. As more and more people in the world move into the cities, I want to be able to live a life that is sustainable and nourishing to my neighbors. I want cities where less kids have asthma, and there's more tended to parks to play in. These are some of my dreams and I will let them be so.
Peace to you,
Rachel
