This
weekend in my garden, I found myself welcoming in the burst of spring. The birds
and butterflies danced through the flowers and trees, while taking a break,
here and there, for some nutriment from seasonal delights. As I worked my way through the garden –
pruning, feeding, spraying and cleaning out some of the beds – during each stop
at a different section of the garden, I found myself thinking about the phrase,
“sowing seeds.” I was preparing a garden bed for some new small plants—plants
that I would feed, water and nurture to help them blossom and flourish to their
greatest capacity. I thought about how the phrase is used with so many contexts in our lives, from gardening, of course, to biblical scriptures,
business investing and ways to describe human interaction with marriage, family
and friends.
As I
continued to work my way through my garden chores feeling a little thirsty from
the physical exercise of trimming, I started to think that this simple sounding
phrase of sowing seeds is really about all aspects of life. I realized that when one is sowing seeds, one
must be willing to have patience, which we learn from the seasons of the garden
and nature’s way—nothing is the same and the weather is often unpredictable.
We must be
willing to trust our instinct and believe in what we are doing. Whether it is in a relationship, a job or a
hobby, we must be willing to spend the time to nurture and grow that
relationship or idea with love and compassion in order to enjoy the fruits of
one’s labor. And like the seasons of the garden, we must be willing to have
peace in understanding that our lives, ideas and situations are always
changing.
So as I
dusted off the dirt, which I usually find myself in from head to toe after a day
in garden, I looked around with such joy and a thankful heart for all that God
has created for us to enjoy.
I realize
that if we are willing to spend the time to sow seeds with patience, trust,
peace, love and compassion, our journey through life will be a lot more
bountiful and full of garden surprises…
