There’s not a lot to
do around here. It gets dirty really quickly and no one really comes around to
help clean it up. It may as well be a wasteland.
But there is one
person who keeps maintaining this place. It’s a good gardener. He makes sure to
check in every so often to ensure the plants that grow are cared for.
I walk over and talk
to him.
“What’s the purpose of all this
maintaining? I don’t know who’s coming after, so you’re just wasting your
time.”
“Regardless, I like to tend to this garden.
It keeps me occupied.”
“What you’re saying is, you’re bored,
then?”
“Not
at all.” He placed his garden hose down. Every so often, he’d stop, look up
from his work, and wipe the sweat off his brow. How long this man had been here
I saw through his drenched forehead.
“If I could see this plant grow, it would
be my joy. You see, I have waited for this plant to grow ever so patiently. I
think it’s going to bloom soon.”
I shook my head, “But nothing has grown
here for the past year. Why do you persist?”
“It is what I have
committed to do.” Beads of sweat raced down his face.
What seemed like
foolishness to me, the man continued to give attention to. He paid no mind to
my inquisitiveness, and maybe even felt encouraged that I was curious at his
endeavors.
“Would you like to
see how I do it?” I took a step back. This was a stranger – someone I had known
from a distance, never to approached so close to have conversation with.
“There’s not much to
it,” he reassured me, noticing my hesitation. “you just dig up the ground
around,” he motioned with his hands. “then you place the seed where you dug.”
“And the rest is
just making sure this bad boy has enough water and care, every so often.”
“Eventually, it’ll
grow to a point where you won’t have to take care of it anymore.” He stood up
proudly. “it’ll get to a point where it’ll take care of itself. Like that one.
He pointed to a tree
I only noticed when he had pointed to it.
The tree was old, I
could tell. It wasn’t majestic by any means, and it didn’t seem like much. But
there was a regal air about it. It had weathered so much, and grown strong here
in this wasteland.
“That one, I knew
would be magnificent... It just needed some love a care from me to make it
through the tough seasons this place had to offer.”
As I reflected on
the man’s words, there was a dawning on me, that whatever this man had
committed to was worthwhile.
I took the shovel,
and began to dig. The man helped me choose a spot, and I placed a seed into the
dirt.
Years later, I came
back to that spot. Wondering if the man that had helped me plant it still lived
there.
I saw a green
pasture. Replacing the desolate wasteland that I had been so familiar with.I
almost didn’t recognize any of it.
The man came out of
his house, a huge smile on his face.
“You’re back!” It
was as if I had met him just yesterday.
“What happened
here?”
“Take a look for
yourself.”
I walked towards the
garden, where he had been working and where I had planted the seed. The seed
had found its home. Its branches leapt for many feet into the sky, and
noticeably was a standout from the other plants.
“Isn’t it
wonderful?” He stood beside me, marveling. “Who knew this would be the seed?
But it grew ever diligently, almost on a schedule.”
As I walked around
The tree I had
played a small part in plant, had blossomed.
 |
| LGM! |
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| Man, Pastor Steve looks good. |
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| "You can't walk? Hahahahahahaaha" |
