the spiritual side of humanure

I've been thinking about the circle of life recently. No, not from an animated movie from the 90s, but about the process of humanure. Food grows, we eat it, we excrete what our bodies cannot process and then - through the composting process - we return the nutrients to the soil. Much more efficient and whole than using purified and treated water to flush our waste into rivers and oceans.

Reading about humanure has been fascinating. It's amazing to me that by adding carbon (leaves, weeds, sawdust, etc) to our toilet matter and letting it sit in certain conditions, the outcome is rich and fertile soil.

Spiritually I feel like that has been my journey this past year and a half: following burn out and disillusionment, and I needed the inputs of sunshine, people, time on trails and in water, and time. And slowly, my crap began to be broken down and transformed into something good.

Regardless of what you think about humanure itself, the metaphor is strong: God takes our brokenness and rebellion and adds his forgiveness and love in conditions that nurture our healing and wholeness, and then over time, productive and fruitful lives result that can be used for beautiful things.

I'm grateful that unlike our current pervasive system, I haven't been sent away to be dealt with through chemicals and expensive processes. Rather, it's been a gentle, gradual and soul-filling meandering back to the God who was always there waiting for me to come home.