SEEDS OF THE SEASON

It has been a good season to plant. We have all the time in the world to dig, cultivate, till, and sow seeds. This is now the normal in our front yard every morning while having our daily dose of sunshine. We’re growing herbs like mint, tarragon, and dill, together with some easy-to-grow vegetables, including upland kangkong, okra, radish, mustasa, and pechay. 

We’re already on our third week of gardening after the quarantine declaration. It’s a joy to see our plants growing day after day. By the way, we just started harvesting our kangkong, and it is so satisfying! We’re happy urban growers! 

I’m not an expert on this. Actually, whenever there is something wrong with our plants like pests, weeds, or discoloration, I always ask my wife (she is an agriculturist) on what to do or what plant remedy to make. 

One time, I am startled why, after one, two, and three weeks of waiting, some of the seeds that we planted did not grow. Even if my wife has answers to my questions, it bothered me why some seeds grow faster than the others even if they are the same seeds from the same pack. Talking about seeds, I was reminded of a lesson in one of our life group meetings. Life group is a support group in our church; we have one in our subdivision.  

You may look and read into Matthew 13:4-8, The Parable of the Sower: 

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 

This might be a very familiar parable to you or it might be not. Nevertheless, I think this is a good passage for our reflection in this season when we are staying in our homes, and with some who may have been into gardening like us. 

During this pandemic, what kind of heart do we have? Which soil are we tending? And what kind of seeds do we grow? Are we cultivating and sowing seeds of fake news, anxiety, or negativity? Or do we nurture dreams and positivity? In this time of crisis, our true color will be seen, they say. I hope that our seeds will bring forth good fruits.  

Indeed, there is no perfect season to sow seeds of hope, peace and love. We need to sow them every day of our lives! We will continually praise God for those who sow goodness, service, and generosity in this time when we need it the most. God bless you all!