Restoring Soil

When we’ve made a mistake and wonder if God can forgive and repair us, we can look to the soil for another illustration of how God makes it happen. When soil has become degraded, it is unable to grow and supply food or provide habitat to living organisms. The soil is no longer good for anything and can easily cause further destruction of the places around it through erosion. In order to produce or protect life, the soil has to be restored. One method is through organic compost. “Compost is a mixture of decomposed plant parts and animal waste. The key benefit of composting is that it increases soil organic matter content. Organic matter improves the soil fertility, the soil structure and its water holding capacity. It also sequesters carbon in the soil” (Arit Efretuei, “How Do You Restore Degraded Soil?,” Permaculture News, October 13, 2016, https://www.permaculturenews.org/2016/10/13/restore-degraded-soil/). Sometimes we feel dirty, used, damaged, broken, unfit for growing or providing life, but the soil with which we identify can be restored, and so can we. New life, attention, air, and moisture (refreshment) are all added to the dusty soil, and new, healthy soil can be used to grow and protect life.