Enriching the Earth by Dr. Juan Harrison
Enriching the Earth
Sitting on the patio it looks like a miniature military invasion as leaves rain down from the branches of the giant oak. For a season they have served their purpose providing shade and shelter for living beings. Now they begin their new role of providing nutrition for other vegetation as their lifetime to the mother tree has been severed. Dark green turns to brown, red, yellow and a multitude of other colors. Us humans are regaled by the beauty of the rainbow cascade and the former gigantic source of life of the tiny paratroopers. Soon they will dissolve into leafy crumbs and ultimately working their way into the soil to help start another cycle of life for the next generation of greenery come Spring.
In somewhat similar fashion mankind goes through more meaningful gyrations. We begin life totally dependent on mother’s milk or formula. Soon we graduate to solid food and ultimately take responsibility for the nutrition needed to survive on planet Earth. In most cases our human suppliers of life eventually turn off the spigot of life as we assist or encourage the offspring in their quest for independent living. Looking up into the tree we may spy a rebellious leaf or two insistent on hanging on to the skinny branch hoping to cling to Mama Tree until the very end.
We’re reminded by God of the cycle of our lives in Genesis 3:19 when Adam lost his chance for immortality and heard God sadly pronounce the sentence for all mankind that he would eat food produced from the sweat of his brow “until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” At funerals we often hear that phrase from the Book of Common Prayer, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
The good thing about our human cycle of life is that it doesn’t end in a compost pile or a pile of leaves for the grands to dive into. The physical part of death is simply a reminder that we’re all going to die short of the Rapture, so we better be making plans beyond the funeral arrangements. Some of us may get some warning; others, like Kenny Rogers’ gambler, may take leave and die in our sleep.
Any form or stage of life is precious. It gets more so when Doc Adams takes off his spectacles, wipes his mustache, and tells us he’s got some bad news. I remember that sinking, momentarily helpless feeling I had on the highway as the doctor relayed by phone why I needed a CAT scan. “Mass” took on a whole new meaning. Thank the Lord for second and third chances. Unlike the falling leaves, hopefully we can use our brief tenure on this earth to be more than just part of the compost heap of life.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
