Digging in The Dirt
There’s just something special about the dirt. For some reason, when it slips through my hands, it not only touches my fingers but it touches my heart.
Digging in the dirt is therapeutic for me. Even though my aging back and aching joints rebel at all the bending and digging, my soul feels the rush of eternal refreshment when my hands turn over the dirt.
These days I’m turning over a lot of dirt. I’ve spent several days trimming shrubbery, pulling weeds, planting flowers, and nurturing young, tender plants with water, fertilizer, and loving care. Obviously, the task is burdensome. In fact, it can be downright hard work. That’s why many people pay for someone else to do it, but not me. For me, the toil, pain, and sweat are but a small price to pay for the sense of wholeness I find by digging in the dirt.
The other day, as I was digging in the dirt, I began thinking about the creation story found in Genesis, and quickly understood why the Hebrews chose a garden setting to speak of God’s creative work. As I dug in the soil with my fingers and placed that fresh soil around tender, young roots, I thought about God doing the same in his Garden of Eden.
From God’s dirty hands came grass and flowers, buds and trees. Seemingly, God enjoyed the dirt work as much as I do. At the end of the day, as he wiped the dirt from his hands, he stood back admiring what he had planted. Then, in a divine sigh of fulfillment he said, “This is so good.”
Just before sitting down to rest, God dug up one more pile of dirt. In this pile, he saw something special. As he looked at its fresh, new form, he envisioned something that would become his crown of creation. So lovingly and carefully he cupped his hands around the fresh pile of dirt and tried something new. He blew into it, filling the dirt pile with his breath of life. Instantly, humankind sprang from the dirt, and in the warmth of his divine laugh God announced, “Now this is not just good. This is very good!”
For years, the daily routine of Franciscan monks includes working in monastery gardens. Day after day they dig in the dirt. If you asked them why they dig in the dirt they would tell you that by doing so they grow closer to God, because God reveals himself through his creation. I like their reasoning. I like their love of dirt.
Yes, digging in the dirt helps me feel closer to God. In fact, when I dig in the dirt I sense that I’ve become a co-creator with God. My hands join his hands as we dig in the dirt together, and when we’re finished, we both get to stand back and smile as we muse in unison, “This is so good.”
