Late in the afternoon yesterday, Doug and I went for a bike ride. As we were riding through the park that is adjacent to a local sod farm, I noticed that since I had last been there, they had tilled the soil. Of course it caught my eye, it was acres and acres of freshly turned soil just waiting for the new seed to be planted.

The farmer tills the soil for a reason, especially where I live. Our area is home to this incredibly difficult red-clay soil. Tilling is not really an option here. If you want your seed to have a fighting chance to germinate and spread its roots in this soil, you have to break up the encrusted clumps. The farmer’s goal is to create an environment where his crops will flourish and he will be successful in harvesting an amazing crop.

Well, the same is true for us! What seed do you want to plant right now? Is it work related or something else? Do you know exactly what you want to harvest and when? Good! Now think about how you will plant this seed and nurture it so that it bears fruit. Did you till the soil? Are you attending to it every day? Are you watering it and fertilizing it? Look, anyone can throw a seed into some dirt and then wonder why it’s not producing fruit—and sadly, many do. But we know better. This seed is important to us and we need to treat it as such. As you see crops along the side of the road right now, take a moment to honor how much time and effort was given to helping this crop flourish—and then do the same with your own seed. It’s important.

With Gratitude,

Beth

P.S. If you found yourself singing the Peter, Paul, and Mary song that I call, Inch by Inch, but can’t remember all the words, here they are…The Garden Song