Gullies of Erosion

My father built a new house during the summer when I was ten years old.  We lived in a small town surrounded by farms on which a variety of crops and livestock were raised.  There was plenty of sod, but there were no sod farms where a carpet of grass could be purchased to place over a bare yard.  Dad wanted a picture-perfect lawn.  His reasoning?  He owned a hardware store that sold a high-quality line of lawn care products and he wanted to show the community what a lawn would look like if they would purchase those particular products.  So, my father drafted his sons to help him prepare the dirt by breaking up clods into small particles and removing foreign obstacles such as rocks and pieces of construction wood.  His house was going to be highlighted by a showcase lawn.

We worked many days with hoes and garden rakes to smooth out the dirt, even getting the steep slopes on the east yard properly prepared.  Dad then painstakingly applied the grass seed and fertilizer, and placed water sprinklers to gently give the soil the moisture it would need.  We could hardly wait to see the small blades of grass pop through the dirt.  A few days later a big thunderstorm dumped a lot of rain and we watched large gullies appear in several sections of the yard, particularly on those steep slopes of that eastern side.  My brothers and I received a nature-provided lesson concerning soil erosion.  We discovered it was much more difficult and expensive to haul dirt to fill in the gullies, replant grass seed, and reapply fertilizer than it would have been to take precautions against erosion in the first place.  We found out that newly planted seeds must be protected so they can be established and provide stabilization of the soil.

Erosion can be reduced and even eliminated by an assortment of preemptive measures.  The soil surface can be protected in order to prevent the dirt particles from being detached by water or wind.  Using good sediment control methods can trap the soil particles that have already been dislodged by the weather so the damage is greatly reduced.  Terraces can be built, silt fences can be erected, and erosion blankets can be applied.  In addition to regular seeding and mulching, hydro seeding and hydro mulching are other options that could be used.  Even straw bale barriers and mulch logs can help.  But before any of these preventive measures can be applied, there must be a recognition of the problem.

It is obvious that the moral foundation of our society is deteriorating at a rapid pace.  Marriage is being dismantled, families are being torn apart, and the federal government is overreaching in many areas of our lives.  Local control and parental rights are continuously being ripped away.  As of this writing, the Food and Drug Administration was considering giving approval to allow scientists to experiment with the cloning of a baby using the genes from three parents.  Do these things not echo what God said in Judges 21:25, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”?

God established moral absolutes.  Those absolutes are found in His Word, and His Word will not change.  Every person and nation will be judged by God Himself.  Christian home educators can, and must, help stem the erosion of the moral fiber of our society.  Discipling our children for Jesus Christ means guiding them to a personal relationship with Him as Savior and Lord.  It involves helping them to see the cause and effect sequences of life.  God blesses those who follow Him and His ways, and brings judgment on those who reject Him.  There is hope for our country, but it is only found in following Jesus Christ.

Christian families are beacons of light and hope to our communities.  They are crucial to stopping the moral erosion in society.  Stay engaged and help us spread the message.