“…even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these…” Matthew 6:30
La Cresta has the privilege of hosting multiple, thriving native plants including thick golden stands of Rabbitbrush, velvety patches of Prairie Sage, and tall nutty-smelling groves of Bush Sunflower. Shaggy, twisted Cedars and stout Pinon Pines huddle resolutely against the elements. Purple Prairie Clover and Spreading Daisy ply their charms in the spring. Yet nothing is more ubiquitous and sublimer in their understated beauty than the hearty native grasses that cover and enrich the harsh, red, sandy soil, with the most spectacular of all being Blue Grama grass.
Blue Grama Grass
Blue Grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis) is native to much of the western United States and is the most dominant species of native grass in the eastern Colorado Shortgrass Prairie. It is also the Colorado State grass. The Latin term ‘gracilis’ means ‘graceful,’ attesting to the impact this lovely grass made upon the smitten Spanish explorers who so named it.
Blue Grama grass grows as far as the black Canadian Rockies in the north, to the red, sun-drenched Mexican del Norte in the south, its habitat ranging from blistering desert to high altitude steppes. It is a stout, low growing, drought tolerant grass that can prosper at higher altitudes of up to 7,000 feet. Blue Grama is highly adaptable, grows on most soil types, and is a valuable food source and habitat for local wildlife. When healthy, it proves a staunch defense against invasive weeds.
It can endure day after sizzling day- interminable days when the sun struts threateningly across the sky like an irresistible flaming bully, scorching the earth. It can persevere through long, black, moonless nights and tortuous winds that freeze the sap in even the most revered pines, as if stopping time itself in its crackling grip. Yet, it can be extremely fragile if overgrazed or abused and can take decades to re-establish itself once destroyed- if ever.
Among its distinguishing characteristics are its narrow, green to grey-blue blades, its bristly bunch-like formations, and most striking of all, its tall flowering stems that terminate in distinctive, comb-like spikes. These spikes jut angularly from the stem, flag-like, resembling luxuriant eyelashes that wink and flutter bashfully in the wind. When the golden, autumn sun is low, these eyelashes seem detached from the ground, hovering restlessly like millions of illuminated jewels.
Go Native
Ancient agrarian cultures saw grass as an assurance of life. For wandering shepherds, thick, lush fields and pastures mean healthy, happy flocks. Conversely, a flock led through dry, barren wilderness is doomed. Humble grass feeds the world. Wheat, rice, barley, flax, and other vital grains being simply types of grass.
As hearty as most native grasses may be, they are helpless against the environmental conditions necessary for their growth and sustainability. Invasive weeds, insects, blight, and disease conspire to ruin even the most well-established fields. Precise amounts of rain, sunlight, and shade, as well as correct temperatures, all must work in harmony for success.
Without this balance, without proper stewardship and care, once fertile crops quickly give way to hard, cracked, earth roamed by desperate creatures, chased by famine. Like us, it is ultimately at the mercy of forces beyond its control.
“…what is sown does not come to life unless it dies” 1 Corinthians 15:36
Each fall, Blue Grama becomes dormant, turning brown and brittle. The spikes cast their seeds to the winds, roots rest and wait. Through cold winter nights, lifeless clumps sit in the moonlight, often covered with snow, and by all appearances would never produce seed again. Only faith in past Spring seasons would imply anything otherwise.
The inspired ancient prophets of Israel liken humanity to grass; comparing our short, fragile lives to tenuous desert grass, which may rise optimistically with the morning dew, only to succumb to the merciless afternoon heat.
This is contrasted by the eternal, invincible Word of God. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field, the grass withers, the flower fades…. but the WORD of our GOD stands forever.”
Life from Death
The Apostle Peter, later quotes this same passage when speaking of spiritual birth, being re-born from the incorruptible Seed of the Gospel of Christ, the Seed that died and was resurrected.
Jesus, anticipating His crucifixion, said, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The death He suffered for our sake, and His glorious resurrection from the dead, now allows His children to eat from the Tree of Life, and even become, the very fruit- or offspring- of GOD.
A single miraculous seed can produce an entire forest or crops to feed the world, but unless that seed detaches from the plant that formed and nurtured it- cut off from the very stem it has long depended upon and buried in the ground- it will never blossom and put forth fruit. Sometimes, a seed may be transported to dark, desolate places, lonely and forlorn for years and years, without any signs of life. Nevertheless, the potential for resurrection remains.
Likewise, our souls, unless ripped from these corrupt bodies, freed from the cruel shackles of this temporary being, and planted spiritually in His grace and forgiveness, can never inherit God’s kingdom. Currently, death is compulsory for true Life, but it was never meant to, nor shall it always be.
“He will swallow up death forever, and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces…” Isaiah 25:8
Have a Good Day
We are promised a Day when time itself will cease to exist, when all the natural world and even the elements themselves will dissolve. This new Day is something that has never existed before and will preclude anything from ever existing after.
There will no longer be seasons of growth and loss, death and life, joy and sorrow. There will only be that which was intended from the beginning- love and perfection without end- perpetual living in the light of grace- an eternal giving and receiving, yet nothing ever gained or lost- infinitely full yet always with capacity for more.
For now, we endure such seasons as to doubt such a Day. Seasons of dryness, and of barren, brittle hearts. Seasons of drought, and seasons of gentle rains and refreshing. Seasons of heavy white snow, and seasons when the snow melts and rivers swell. Seasons of joy and abundance giving way to seasons of chaos and destruction; seasons of pain and loss giving way to days of growth, fellowship, and healing. But on that Day, “Death will be swallowed up in victory” and the cycle will end.
We have owned La Cresta since 2018, and every year the Blue Grama and other native plants have always come back after winter. To see Blue Grama flourish in this harsh, inhospitable land, assures me of His love. Despite storms and withering heat, the grass remains. Each spring, tiny stems begin to sprout and brown fields give way to green. This land has been through seasonal cycles for thousands upon thousands of years, before men walked here, and He cares for this land and all other desolate places simply because it is His pleasure and nature to do so, and so it is with us.
To look back at Jesus, to see the empty tomb and the gory graveclothes laid aside, allows us to look forward past dormant seasons of cold, gripping grief. It allows us to look past death, and embrace Life. Like the spring before, by the mercy of Our Savior, we expect seeds to sprout and grass to blossom and grow- everything lost restored, and everything we have loved, perfected in Him.
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40
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