Recently I came across these tiny mushrooms (in today’s background photo) growing in the forest … and my immediate “blink” reaction was that they looked like barnacles.
When I was in college, I heard a pastor preach about “Barnacles on a ship” … he was using the illustration of barnacles growing on a ship and weighing the ship down, and how that is like sin weighing our lives down. At the time I had never seen a barnacle before. I didn’t really get what he was referring to.
Now that I have lived next to the Puget Sound for 20 years I totally get that illustration! Barnacles form colonies. They grow on basically anything underwater … they even grow on whales. Because they are cement-like they are very hard to remove! And when a colony starts forming, it grows and grows and grows! Barnacles are a scourge for ships, because they can grow so heavy on the bottom hulls of boats that, if not dealt with, they could actually sink a boat.
Therefore, barnacles must be regularly removed. Boats must be hauled out of the water into drydock and the barnacles must be scraped off.
Having this background knowledge of barnacles, I found it ironic that these tiny mushrooms in the forest looked so similar to barnacles. Mushrooms are actually very helpful in nature! Unlike barnacles which weigh things down and sink ships, mushrooms help to break down decaying matter so that it is returned back to nature … and can be used to nourish the soil and nourish growing plants.
Prior to moving to our forested piece of property I had never really seen a mushroom before. But since moving to the forest, I’ve been amazed at the wide variety of different types of mushrooms growing throughout the forest.
They are all so individually unique! I’m sure they likewise have individually unique roles which they play in helping to break down decaying matter.
In our lives, we can have “barnacles” growing … which is like sin … which is hard, and cement-like, and grows and grows until it eventually winds up sinking our lives!
Or … in our lives we can have “mushrooms” growing … which is like God’s work of regeneration in our lives. Just like the forest has a lot of fallen dead tree branches, and a lot of fallen dead leaves, etc. which need to be broken-down and returned back to nature … so also our lives have a lot of hurts, a lot of disappointments, a lot of mistakes, a lot of faults, flaws, failures, etc. …
Just like the mushrooms break down the decaying matter … so also the Holy Spirit works in our lives to break down those “decaying” things.
As the decayed matter is broken down, nutrients are returned back to the soil, which then nourish new plant growth. So also, as the Holy Spirit breaks down the “decaying” things in our lives, our lives become spiritually healthier and “nutrients” from the process fuel our growth in Christ.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge: What is something in nature you are grateful for?
Mushrooms … because they are such a beautiful picture of how God takes care of what is decaying in nature (as well as in our spiritual lives) and does a work of regeneration to renew the earth (and our spiritual lives) and make all things new!
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” – Titus 3:5
“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new.’” – Revelation 21:5
Thank you God for your gift of mushrooms to regenerate and renew the earth.
Thank you God for your gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to regenerate us spiritually and give us new life!
