To Care For: Part 1
Then God blessed them [humans] and gave them this directive: “Be fruitful and multiply. Populate the earth. I make you trustees of My estate, so care for My creation and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that roams across the earth.”
Genesis 1:27-28 The Voice
When I think about creation care, this is one of the first verses that springs to mind. This first command by God to us comes at the end of the creation story. It comes after God has invested their time and energy into creating plants, animals, humans and everything else in the world. And, in what I tend to see as a post-laborious exhaustion, God looks to us and she says, “care for my creation.” And in that moment God is telling us to care for ourselves and for all of humanity, yes, but God is also asking us to care for the planet - the bugs, the birds, the fish, the four-legged creatures, the grass, the plants, the sky, the oceans, the air - all of it. All of that which God has called “very good” (Gen. 1:31) is that which we are charged to bring under our care.
Now, I didn’t really know much about “creation care” growing up. Creation was framed as being a beautiful thing that God had given to us to enjoy, but the idea of intentionally caring for it because God had said we were supposed to wasn’t really communicated. However, I was definitely still being taught to value and care for creation in certain ways. You see, I grew up in the rural South surrounded by the agricultural industry. The 200 acres I grew up on was originally a farm - pigs, crops, and cattle included - that my great grandparents worked. When I was a child, my grandfather had a few vegetable gardens on the land and my grandmother had flower gardens. There were peach trees, pear trees, blueberry bushes, and blackberry bushes scattered about. In the fall and winter, my grandfather picked up and sold pecans from the pecan trees that filled the yards of my and my grandparent’s houses - houses which were separated by a hay field. But perhaps the best and most prominent feature of the land was the acres and acres of pine trees - acres that I roamed, machete in hand, from before my age hit double-digits. I was connected to the land. We composted. I helped in the garden and eventually had a small one of my own. My dad taught me to grow tomatoes. I wasn’t one with nature, but I was in tune with it even if I hated the sweltering summer heat.
And then, then I got busy. I stopped helping in the garden. I moved into a dorm where composting would have been difficult. My relationship with my hometown and anything that reminded me of it became increasingly difficult. I became more and more detached from the creation of my food and therefore more and more detached from nature - I don’t have the numbers, but I’d wager my carbon footprint got a good bit bigger during that time. But then I started to hear more and more about climate change. I started to miss the connectedness I once had to nature. I became increasingly aware of Biblical instructions and imagery that emphasized a care for the earth. I started going for walks and just trying to be at peace amongst the trees. I leaned in on repurposing things I would have previously thrown away and reducing my waste. I signed up for a produce box that sends you food that would otherwise be thrown out. I got a few leafy plants and one herb (it’s basil!). I had to give a sermon on creation care and confront some of my own practices that did harm to the environment and subsequently those around me. I got more leafy plants and some aloe from my grandmother. And then, then I decided to lean in more, which is basically how this blog series came to be.
Over the next six weeks, you’ll hear from myself and two other Studio Wesley community members about how we’re considering creation and choosing to lean into our God-given call to care for it. For me, this is going to look like expanding my garden. I’d like to specifically include some more plants that generate food and some plants that will help the shrinking bee population. By doing this, I can reduce my carbon footprint (you’d be surprised how much energy it can take to grow, harvest, and ship a piece of fruit) and have a positive impact on the environment around me (bees are pollinators which are essential to growing food and maintaining the environment). I’m hoping having to tend to and care for these plants will also increase my connectedness to the natural environment around me and ultimately my connection to a divine, creative Creator who saw all that they had made, called it “very good”, and entrusted us with its care.
I’ll update y’all on how my journey to consider creation is going in a few weeks!
- Sara