Organic Prayer

God is continually breathing into our nostrils.” It is a vivid way of expressing the fact that not only is our life the creation of God, but that every moment of our life is also sustained by God. We are not only made. We continue to be made. It is possible to say that we are not so much human “beings” as human “becomings.

Although some people might consider the contents of our piles to be “garbage,” this material is not garbage. As it decays, assisted by earthworms as well as by organisms I cannot even see, my compost becomes “black gold,” rich humus that will contribute to the garden’s future well-being.
Composting teaches me that nothing in life is, in fact, “garbage.” The way of nature is the way of use and reuse. When this lunchtime’s carrot peeling is dumped on top of the seething compost pile, it enters into the slow process of becoming fertilizer for next summer’s crop of carrots.

I learn, from observing nature’s economy, that God intends me also to use all that I am given. I am meant to use my gifts and skills, my sorrows, and all the random happenings of life, spreading them out, as it were, in the fresh air of God to be transformed so that they can become life-giving, both for myself and for the world around me.

From Organic Prayer: A Spiritual Gardening Companion by Nancy Roth