There’s Stuff Growing in my Bin

For many of you who do not know, ever since I lived in Vancouver, I have grown to love the nature around me.  In my last place, my landlord — a pastor and his family — had a compost bin in his back garden.  We would fill the bin with all sorts of rubbish (vegetable clippings, tea leaves, egg shells — I even threw in some pork bones which I later found you are not supposed to do) and, after a few months, it would all turn into this very rich soil (bones included).  Aside from the fringe benefits of having stuff to plant with, it was also a means to minimise the amount of waste thrown out for the garbage trucks. Afterall, things that could be composted are usually tightly wrapped in plastic bags and added to landfills – a place where worms, slugs and other friendly critters could not help in the decomposition process.

When we moved to our new home in the UK, one of the first purchases for the house was a compost bin.  Most municipalities will subsidise the cost of such an investment (which is nice), so we got one from our local water company and have been filling it since.  I tell our friends that I will gladly compost their kitchen waste, but they think I am joking (and so does Betty).  Unfortunately, the other day when I was checking our compost bin I noticed a bunch of green stuff sprouting on the bottom.  Evidently, some grass has been growing in this rich, composted soil!  That’s okay — I just cut the grass and threw it back into the compost bin.  :)

I can’t find it now, but I remember reading a few weeks ago a blog that commented about St. Francis of Assisi’s love for nature.  The post basically argued that his love for nature was an outpouring of his love for God and all that God creates and works through.  While some people think it is weird to be “eco-friendly” or concerned about your “carbon footprint,” it is often forgotten that this is perhaps one of the first commands of God (besides making babies like rabbits) in Genesis 1:28. Being green is not only about being in vogue, but it is also about loving your Creator and all that He has made.