A Little Bit Of Green

The deer ate our plants.
Not all  the plants, mind you.
But many of them.
Some are plants the deer have never eaten before.

My husband sprinkles natural deer repellent on the plants with a paintbrush.
He dips the brush in the liquid and shakes the brush on the plants and shrubs.
The repellent usually works quite well.
However, not this year.

It was a frigidly, cold winter.
The landscaper, who does our mulching and planting, said as much.
I have been asked to wrap netting around people’s plants all winter, he told me.
We had him out to look at two evergreen trees in the front bed.

The trees were looking spindly to me and we wanted his opinion.
Well, the deer ate the bottom sections, he said, pointing.
Those sections will not come back, he informed us, since they literally ate down to the wood.
Since they are spindly and not as healthy as they should be, the trees will come down.

The deer are eating everything, he went on, even things they never eat.
I could feel sorry for the deer on one hand but frustrated at them on the other.
Deer are normally a bit afraid of humans, but not now.
In the snow, we saw their hoof prints on the front walkway, as they ate our bushes for food.

We walk out on our deck; the deer will be right there and never run away.
When white tail deer run away all you see is their white tail.
The deer have gotten so used to people, they don’t run away any more.
We still cannot get close to them but our presence is not a deterrent any longer.

We were assured that our plants will indeed come back.
I trust the expertise of the man who takes care of our lawn in the spring and fall.
However, I admit I was skeptical.
There is no way the sticks I see will ever turn green again.

I thought of The Mad Farmer Liberation Front poem by Wendell Berry.
A few of its stanzas, I have committed to memory.

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it…

Listen to carrion — put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts…

Practice resurrection.

There it is.
Practice resurrection.
Expect it, even when you only see sticks.
It will come.

And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. (1 Corinthians 6:14)

One day we will die.
We will go back to the dust from which we were created.
One might think that there is no way we are ever going to rise again.
Because of Jesus, we will.

Jesus is the first fruits.
Jesus died, was buried, and rose again on the third day.
What happened to Jesus will happen to us.
We will die one day but, if we are in Christ, we will be raised to new life.

I walked outside to check for a package that was to be delivered.
It is 71 degrees today.
I saw it…a little bit of green.
All those seemingly dead sticks are budding.

Soon the seemingly dead sticks will be lush once more.
We are made of dust and will one day return to dust.
But, in Christ we, who are dust, will rise to new life.
In the new heavens and the new earth, we will be made new.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Practice resurrection, indeed.
It is coming.