Pastoral PONDerings—Duckweed
I love having our ponds in the yard, surrounded by the peaceful woodland—it’s such a refreshing sight, often deeply spiritual when it becomes part of my soul time. You wouldn’t think of such a peaceful sight as a harsh battleground—but in many ways, it is!
The patches of green that you often see in calm ponds are often composed largely of an Evil Creature called Duckweed. Or quite a blessing called Duckweed—maybe it just SEEMS to be Evil– depending on your perspective and how you look at things. It grows FAST, and can completely and densely cover ponds in a very short time, unless the battle continues—turning the pond into an ugly green mat that looks like you can almost walk on it!
Yet I hear Duckweed can also be a high protein superfood, for garden fertilizer, for livestock, as well as for people! I’ve not tried it yet, but if grown in clean ways, it supposedly has a spinach-like taste, and can easily be turned into a simple protein powder.
Duckweed is also the smallest of flowering plant in the world, and remarkably resilient (one of my favorite words!) suggesting that, for good or ill, the tiny can be quite powerful! Recent and current research with duckweed is suggesting that, tiny though it may be, it can be the source of numerous ways to mitigate growing problems in our world (and beyond), from hunger to energy, to livestock, to waste and CO2 mitigation, even to space exploration!
So if something this tiny can be this powerful—both for great nutrients (positive blessing) and by cleaning up toxins (neutralizing Bad Stuff)– might that make you think twice about the tiny things you can do for others that can become powerful blessings? Whether doing something small to build someone up, or the little things you do to clean up life’s messes—a little can go a long way! Jesus’ words about the Widow’s Mite, the one lost sheep, his actions with the Little Ones clamoring around him, all come to mind as demonstrations and models for the Blessing of the Littles from one Great Big God.
What little ways can you be a great big blessing to others today? Pastor Jim