March 18, 2020

A few days before our self-imposed quarantine began, my friend Claire and I decided to plant flower seeds.  I had found a packet of Calendula seeds while moving to our new home.  They were hidden in a drawer.  I don’t know how long they had been there, and I wasn’t even sure they’d grow.  I’m not a gardener, you see.  I’ve never planted seeds before.  At the time I thought of it as a fun thing to do with Claire, so we filled biodegradable peat pots with dirt, dug little holes, dropped a seed in each, covered them back up, and dribbled them with water.

 

I had no idea those little seeds would come to mean so much to me.  Two or three days into our quarantine I suddenly realized that the dirt I had been watering (at the insistence of Claire who spoke to me through a closed window) now had small green growth poking through it. 

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The next day I tilted the container toward the window to show my friend what was happening. It was a moment of shared joy during a week of strange events and growing anxiety.  In that moment I was grateful for the power of life to break through darkness and reach for the light. In that moment I was grateful for the resilience of children.  In that moment I was reminded that “Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what” (1 Corinthians 13:7). 

 

That little plant, and that little friend, reminded me that I can only endure what life throws my way if love surrounds me.  Knowing that I am loved, and that I am called to love others, strengthens my trust and broadens my hope. 

 

You are loved by a Creator whose heart beats in time with your own.  You are loved in all of your glorious imperfect humanity.  Turn your face toward the light of the Christ - wherever you are - and grow in that love.  Then offer that love to the world.

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Peace to you,

Pastor Patty