Each time I hear the word “seeds”, my mind replays a discovery that unfolded on a rare sunny day in Oregon. I was in university at the time. In an effort to pay for my education I was working two to three jobs concurrently. One of them was a role as a night-duty attendant, a personal answering service for a local business every other night and every other weekend.
The business was located in the heart of the small town. Given the nature of our work, local leaders as well as policemen were frequent visitors. The building itself was from the late 1800’s, with elm trees and beautiful flower gardens around three of four sides.
Unbeknown to me, when one roommate was leaving, as a parting gesture, he scattered his stash of seeds across one length of the building’s flower garden. As I look back, it was a gesture that expressed his frustrations as well as his tenuous grasp on fleeting hope. Whatever the reason, the seeds were scattered and forgotten.
In the weeks after he left, we worked through the areas of our mutual frustration. With the passage of time, wounds healed and new beginnings began to emerge. In a gesture of reconciliation, I invited him over for dinner. As the time arrived, I heard a knock and opened the door to old yet new friend. His old demeanor had been replaced by laughter and a big smile.
“Do you know what is growing outside?”
“Flowers? It is spring.”
“Yes, there are lots of flowers. Some were planned, others sown without thought.”
As we wondered outside, I saw what I otherwise had not seen for weeks; tall, healthy, and soon to be blossoming pot plants. An act of careless frustration had run its natural path and was now on display to anyone willing to see.
Then and now I remembered an old prayer; “Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance catch up with them, catch them out and bring them down – every muttered curse – every barefaced lie.” (Psalm 59.12) Life’s cycle is resilient and enduring.
