There’s More for You to Do

Did you know that you can’t plant a pine cone and expect a tree to grow? By the time you find cones littering your yard, the seeds have already released. All that’s left is the woody husk.

But before you toss out the pine cones in your yard during spring cleanup, consider this: the part that seems useless and dead serves a vital function in the forest. Pine cones decompose slowly, offering a gentle release of nutrients to the soil. Their shape and structure allow the earth below to breathe, and their resins collect water into droplets (think water on wax paper) to prevent erosion during heavy spring rainstorms. At first glance, a pine cone might be just an empty shell—the real life now gone away. But even after the seed releases, there’s so much left for a pine cone to do.

The next time you’re on a walk, grab a pine cone and bring it home. Set it on your windowsill or at your desk. Let these little handiworks of God remind you that you too have lots left to do. Even if your loved one’s death has gutted you and has taken away that seed of vibrancy that made you feel alive. Even if you feel like a dried-up, empty husk of the person you were before. The promise of God’s marvelous pine cone holds true for you today—there’s so much usefulness and purpose and beauty still left for you.