I have seen some pretty amazing places and things in this big beautiful world. Some places are covered in crazy vegetation, plants, algae and all sorts of insects. There are other places where big animals roam or smaller ones live in the trees or burrows in the ground. There are forests and ice caps and then there is the vast world of water that covers the majority of our Earth’s surface. And the ocean floor has climates and worlds of its own. But beneath all of this there is Earth. Earth in the form of dirt, sand, rocks and stones, Earth in the form of minerals and metals. And all of this gives us a little history of our planet. The layers and the shifts, the plates and the new earth created by volcanic activity. The colors of dirt and minerals found can tell us of what came before us, and as you dig a little deeper you can discover what came before that and so on down to the depths we cannot reach. There is so much to study and learn about on the surface, the many creatures and life forms that provoke curiosity distract us from the Earth below. But sometimes I think the Earth itself is underestimated and taken for granted. But the reality is that we are using and shaping the “Earth” each and every day. Whether it’s the metals used to make the pots we cook with or the oil in our cars, the brick that builds our homes or pavement below our feet or the wires that transmit the energy for our modern technology. The elements of the Earth are amazing, how they are not alive and yet provoke each other into new forms and wonders. I did not do so well in my high school chemistry class or perhaps I would have continued to pursue my curiosity of these majestic sciences. I was in Southern Utah last weekend, taking in the beauty of the red sandstone landscape, places like this can make you feel like you have stepped into a Star Wars film and landed on another planet. As I looked around at the delicate rock creations, and the distinct sedimentary layers I wanted to know and understand the Earth more. I want to know how it was formed and be able to look at the color or texture of the sand or dirt and learn from it. Perhaps an area that is desert now was once covered by water. And how did those old black rocks that are 2 billion years old get mixed in with the Grand Canyon? Did water once cover the whole Earth? Is there matter from our Earth that may have once come from other planets of times that we cannot even comprehend? I remember walking through the Ancient Ruins of Rome for the first time, thinking “Wow, this is so old!” But sometimes I forget to look around at the Earth below my feet and the mountains towering over my head and recognize that these creations are much older and grander than any ancient Coliseum or Pyramid. These natural wonders illustrate the design of divinity and a great creator. I am grateful to live among such beauty and I want to respect and preserve it. Do we abuse these gifts of the Earth? Do we appreciate the divine design enough? Do we take and forget to give back? Fire, Water, Air and Earth… do we remember how important this element is to our survival and existence? Earth is the element that records history and can teach us about the past billion years. We can learn about our changing climates and moving fault lines. I want to get to know the Earth and in so doing I think I will learn a little more about God and his plan. I will learn more of where I can from and recognize the reality that this world and this Universe are just bigger than than I can comprehend. Perhaps it's the combination of going to the Academy of Sciences last week and then a few days later spending the weekend exploring some of the untouched Earth. But just thinking about it, I am starting to understand the Earth a little more.
