The Good Soil!

For me, one of life's little thrills is taking daily scraps to my compost pile!! I pondered why I am so fond of this pile of rotting organic material and have come up with this.... it satisfies my desire to not waste things! Fruit and vegetable scraps are valuable, they are not just garbage! God gave us the entire earth to steward. I am grateful for every little thing including potato peels!!!

My compost pile is simple; two drive posts with wire wrapped around extending from the back of my garden. I toss in plant clippings, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags, fallen oak leaves, algae from the goats' water trough, as well as a few shovels of old goat manure now and then. Every morning as I water the garden, I give my compost pile a little drink. Every weekend I turn the pile. Over the course of a season, I'll have nutrient-rich, water-retaining soil!!! The value of this soil emphasizes the value of each little part that goes into it!!!

Maybe God understands my joy over my compost pile! He used a story about soil in one of His parables concerning His word and those who hear it.

Matthew 13: 1 - 9, 18 - 23: The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.”

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18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”