Faith and Patience

The neighbor that lives just on the other side of the blackberry covered fence is an avid gardener. This week he told me that he loves gardeners because they have faith and patience. A seed which is so small and seeming like not much of anything is planted and becomes later food or a flower (or both!). This is a miracle. The gardener neighbor then saves the seeds of the plant and replants the seed again the following season. Over time, the plants become strong and flourish more and more. The instruction is to plant in your life what you want to grow whether it be a carrot, a creative project, or a fierce commitment to love. Then water it and tend to it with faith and patience year after year and it will grow and flourish. That said, have you ever gardened? A garden is a place of miracles, growth, food and beauty. Yes, this is true. The garden is also a place of decay, decline and death. Earlier this morning, I noticed weird brown-black rot on the tomato plants and yesterday something ate most of the fuchsia. The green beans are almost finished for the year and the leaves are yellowing and dropping. Decay and death are not separate from the miracle and beauty of a garden or of life. Right now collectively we are in a cycle of decay and destruction. Faith and patience can carry us through by reminding us that life itself moves in cycles. In the garden, the tomatoes and the green beans must go and the fuchsia has to be carefully nurtured back to life. Sometimes we need to pull things out and other times we must nurture and care. When it seems like everything is dying, remember faith and patience by committing to what you want to grow in your life.