Wasted?

In her book Braiding Sweetgrass (that I referred to in the previous devotion), author Robin Wall Kimmerer recounts a story told to her by an engineering student from Europe. When he visited Minnesota, he went ricing with a friend’s Ojibwe family. They got up before dawn and spent all day poling through the wild rice beds, knocking rice seeds into their canoe. It didn’t take them long to collect a good amount of rice, yet he was frustrated by the amount that fell back into the lake. “…It’s not very efficient,” he said. At least half the rice just falls into the water and they didn’t seem to care. It’s wasted.”

As a gift to his hosts, he wanted to design a rice capturing system to prevent the rice from falling into the water. He sketched out a technique that would lead to getting 85% more rice. His hosts listened kindly to his plan, then told him that while they could get more rice that way, it would lead to less seed for the following year. They claimed the rice they left was not wasted; it would feed the animals who enjoy the rice. “Do you think the ducks would stop here if we took it all?” Their teachings were to never take more than half.

Let us pray: Gracious and giving God, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, guide us to live with gratitude for all we’re given. Help us to know when we have enough, and when we need to share our blessings so others may grow, thrive, and eat their fill. Amen.