{"id":39880,"date":"2024-01-31T20:40:17","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T01:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=39880"},"modified":"2024-02-03T19:34:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T00:34:16","slug":"guided-by-wonder-a-reflection-on-the-stewardship-of-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/guided-by-wonder-a-reflection-on-the-stewardship-of-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Guided by Wonder: A Reflection on the Stewardship of Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to February 2024 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

\"Chris<\/a><\/span><\/i>While much of the country is shrouded in snow and suffering below-freezing temperatures, Chris Meyer, Stewardship Investing Advocacy and Research Manager at Praxis Mutual Funds<\/strong><\/span>\u00ae<\/span>, took a moment to reflect on his passion for Creation care \u2013 on behalf of Praxis and his own family.<\/strong> By day, Chris leads the corporate engagement program for Praxis, seeking positive, mutually beneficial change for the planet, people, and companies we all rely on. By night, Chris and his family live in a\u00a0<\/span>home they built<\/span><\/a>, off the grid, with lumber from their property in the hills of eastern Ohio. He enjoys growing much of their own food, hunting game in the surrounding woods, and even cleaning the snow off their solar array on frigid winter days so his lights and wireless internet will work. His words in this article remind us how much we all have invested in caring for Creation<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>and how rarely we stop to bask in its glory.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe earth is the Lord\u2019s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it, for he has founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/i>– Psalm 24:1-2<\/span><\/p>\n

When I reflect on what motivates me to care for Creation \u2013 many reasons come to mind. But there is one that seems to connect them all: A sense of wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where I live in the Ohio woodlands, early spring is one of my favorite times to be outside and immersed in nature. The temperature is mild, the undergrowth is minimal, and the mosquitos aren\u2019t yet biting. Forest flowers will soon bloom, taking advantage of the sunlight that reaches the forest floor before the trees leaf out and shade the ground. Morel mushrooms magically sprout out of the soil; hunting for them is one of my favorite pastimes. These rhythms of nature provide a sense of renewal and assurance in uncertain times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we know it, it\u2019ll be April \u2013 the time for an amazing annual event that occurs on the swollen oak tree buds ready to burst into leaves. At this stage, for just a few hours, each bud is vulnerable to a particular insect. During this precise time, female gall wasps inject eggs into the oak bud tissue. The process takes only a few minutes. The injections chemically manipulate the bud tissue and cause galls to form as the leaves grow. Galls are the spherical plant growths many of us see on oak tree branches throughout the year. The galls do not harm the oak trees and the wasps are much too small to sting people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The galls provide both food and protection for the wasp larvae. The larvae pupate inside the gall and emerge as adults in a few months or a year, depending on their type. There are approximately 800 species of gall wasps in North America, each producing unique galls and with their own special adaptations with oak trees. Among other distinct features, some galls secrete sweet substances to attract ants which stay close to the gall and protect the developing larvae from predators. Gall wasps are integral to the lifecycles of many insects and play a vital role in our ecosystem, including as the prey for dozens of arthropods. Who knew?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/a>
The Meyer family’s off-grid home, they built with lumber harvested from their property in the hills of eastern Ohio<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I certainly didn\u2019t until I read\u00a0<\/span>The Nature of Oak\u00a0<\/span><\/i>by Douglas Tallamy. The book is organized by the months of the year \u2013 each month is a chapter \u2013 and chronicles the various cycles of life that occur in and around oak trees during each period. The level of detail is fascinating. The gall wasp story is only one example of life entwined with oak trees in a book overflowing with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oaks are my favorite type of tree, and I thought I knew a lot about the various species and their attributes and lifecycles. However, Tallamy helped me realize that what I knew only scratched the surface. For instance, I knew virtually nothing about the web of insects sustained by oaks, the insects\u2019 relationships with birds or the centrality of birds to oak regeneration. With each layer I uncovered, my sense of wonder increased. My first thought was \u201cAmazing!\u201d But as I neared the end of the book, I was left thinking \u201cWhat else don\u2019t I know?\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Many people, I\u2019m sure, share my feelings of wonder and humility when encountering the marvels of the natural world, or even upon learning about them in a book. We retreat to nature to experience awe, catharsis, and even spiritual renewal. Maybe on a subconscious level, this is what draws so many of us toward an ethic of Creation care. We\u2019re amazed by what we observe and humbled by what we don\u2019t know. Even the experts only understand a fraction of what there is to know about the natural world.<\/span><\/p>\n

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