“Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years.”
—Wendell Berry
Growing up on a Kentucky farm, I took land and space for granted. Sure, I enjoyed playing hide and seek between hay bales, and hiking to the top of the knob to look out over our small town. But what I really wanted was to be closer to town, where my friends were walking to each other’s homes and riding bikes on paved streets instead of rutted farmland.
Then, as soon as I moved away for school and jobs in large cities, I found myself longing for connection with the land. More recently, I have learned through prayer how restorative our relationship with the earth can be. If we look and listen in the right places, we may discover signs of a God who longs for intimacy with creatures and creation. We know that soil gives rise to all life on Earth. By focusing on the soil, we can be drawn into God’s presence and bound by our awareness that all humans are formed from this same “dust.”
Many of us are in need of restoration in this season of Advent. We have been in a perpetual state of waiting since March, and we can easily relate to the Psalmist’s prayers. We long for the unity with others that exists outside of Zoom, physical touch, and seeing facial expressions without masks. The Psalmist reminds us that “faithfulness will spring up from the ground.” Let us remember that God is here, present, waiting to meet us in and through this beautiful earth.
Prayer:
God, let us recognize you as we feel the soil beneath our bare feet, study the roots of a tree, and explore the fungi network connecting life throughout the soil. Heighten our senses when we experience the land and help us imagine our bodies being restored to the soil that nourishes us. Amen.
