‘Bless the earth, heal the sick, let the oppressed go free, and fill each one of us with your love from on high.’
It was just a little tap on the shoulder. Shrubs, trees and the winding path to the Heath giving no clue to what the tap was, until they came thick and fast, bouncing off the ground. It was raining acorns! Changing seasons, signs of autumn following the often-incapacitating heat of the summer, Harvest, Creationtide, commemoration of St Francis of Assisi Patron Saint of Italy, ecology and animals. Bless the Earth…
Bless the Earth? Cop 27, zero carbon, global warming, plastic islands, species extinction, ice caps melting, energy crisis, financial crisis …bless the earth? How?
The acorn shower took me to a favourite story, I love stories. Percy, benevolent, never-off duty, ever available, listening, loving, caring, sacrificing park keeper, features in wonderful books by Nick Butterworth. In ‘After the Storm’, Percy discovers a great oak tree blown over and distraught woodland animals pleading with him to find them shelter, their habitat destroyed. Does Percy take them home to his warm cabin? No. ‘Come with me’, he says. Shivering and crying, the animals follow, even when the bridge breaks and they fall into the stream. Splashing to the other side, they see an oak tree, perfect for a new homing complex, but needing work to make it habitable. Does Percy suggest the exhausted community rest while he sort things out? No. He gently encourages each to do what they can, however small, staying with them, sharing their jubilation as they finish. Dusk settles, and as he is leaving, Percy holds up an acorn from the fallen oak. ‘I’ve just got one more thing to do’.
Bless the earth? God, benevolent, never-off duty, ever available, listening, loving, caring, sacrificing, gently encouraging each to do what they can, however small, stays with us. And we each can do the little things, working together, using whatever skills we have, making a difference.
The acorn? A little thing, a sign of hope, new life and a future.
Mel Adams
