Posted by Lisa Hendey in Homemaking on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 11:08 AM
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
The timing wasn’t intentional, but couldn’t have been more fortuitous - about two weeks ago, my eldest son came out to the kitchen and said, “Mom, can I plant my own garden?” Eric is almost seventeen, so his request for a garden wasn’t what I was expecting! We’ve had gardens on and off over the last several years (more off than on lately!), so we already had a raised bed in place. But it had suffered from great neglect, so as part of the garden’s resurrection we spent a few hours hoeing, tilling, and amending the soil. Younger brother Adam got in on the act, and within a day we had the start of a vibrant vegetable patch. The prep work to get the dead soil ready was the hardest part of the project, so we spent a great deal of time talking about why the sweat equity involved in busting up clumps of clay and removing big rocks was essential to the process.
Had I been prepared, I would have been thrilled to have lovingly quoted this Sunday’s Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-23) to the boys as we worked. Sadly, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead! But the garden lesson must have clicked for Adam because as we sat listening to the gospel on Sunday he leaned over and gave me a big smile. How lovely it is when the word of God reaches right into your heart and speaks such a clear and profound message, as if it were intended especially for you that day!
After two weeks, our little garden is beginning to bear fruit and before we know it, we’ll have more zucchini than we can eat. In the meantime, the work of sowing hearts that are open to hearing and understanding the word of God continues!
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Thank you for this beautiful article! I am an eager gardener and hope that each of my children see the beauty and wonderful tastes God has given us through gardening!
Bless you!
Our close deacon/wife friends are Don & Betty back in Denver… close enough friends that we travelled to Italy together for 3 weeks of pilgrimmage and site seeing. At any rate—Don has a small garden… a few summers ago, he planted spaghetti squash (which we had never had… it’s very good in place of spaghetti/pasta). At any rate—once it started, I’m not sure if you could have ‘terminated’ these squash with a sledge hammer… they were prolific—and Deacon Don was giving them to everyone. Great fun. Lots of laughs. New food experiences. Blessings. D.T.
My 3 yo daughter has been taking quite an interest in our vegetable garden this year, and it has become her special time with Daddy, as they pull weeds together and check for vegetables.
I just love that your 17 yo was the one who wanted to do it. Pretty cool, Lisa!
I love to see how the Holy Spirit prepares us to receive the gospel more fully when we are open to His inspirations. This magazine has fed my soul and touched my heart. Thank you for your labor of love.
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