If I haven't told you yet, I've decided to go to seminary next year, starting fall 2013. I'll be going to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS). When I visited earlier this year, I was struck by the fact that one decision can have such a ripple effect in the future, and on ecology. And that's partly why I'm going to seminary (to speak in riddles). Here's a poem about one such decision that made me choose AMBS.

When They Stopped Mowing, They Noticed
When they stopped mowing,
they noticed how the newly tall
grass invited shy neighbors-
the sparrows and the swallows,
prairie grasses that crept in
to seed their seed, and deer
emboldened by the feed.
They noticed less welcome creatures, too,
skunk and opossum hiding
under the slides and swing.
Red shouldered hawks
stopped for a meal now and then,
they too observed the gradual succession.
From the sky they saw their future homes,
seedlings of bur oak nurtured
near the books in the seminary
that ceased to mow its fields.