Seeds and Hope

The sun warms my face and arms and a trickle of sweat runs down my face. Sweat! In the cold of a few short weeks ago, planting sugar snap seeds felt like a dream, a wishful hope, a potential impossibility. But here I am. It’s March and I am plating sugar snap seeds and sweating.

I pulled up the tarps which have, hopefully, killed all the emerging weeds. I have made my furrows and covered the dried pods with nutrient rich soil. The ground is damp and rain is in the forecast, so I won’t water today, but I have tested the hose and sprayer in anticipation.

The weather on the first of March was very similar to the weather on the last day of February, but the emotions were far different. March means gardening, getting outdoors, warmer weather, flowering trees, and greening grass. This March I will plant two new fig trees in my yard. Not the dwarf, patio fig I have in my garden but real trees. This March I will host an Easter Egg hunt for a branch of my large family, and my yard needs to be ready. This March, I will add beets to my garden for the first time.

God willing.

Because we don’t really know, do we? I have all these plans, and I will work diligently to put them in place, but who really knows except God? As much as March means warmer weather to me, it can also mean tornados and freak snowstorms. The irises are up and the garlic bulbs are sprouting, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Winter is changing into Spring, but we are not there yet.

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16.

Am I looking forward to a homeland with Christ as much as I am looking forward to warm weather and tasty sugar snaps? I have faith that His new world will be considerably better than the one I live in now. But the one I live in now can be lovely. Full of people I love and beautiful sunrises and fruit bearing trees.

Have I made plans, prepared myself for that family reunion? Have I planted seeds that will bear fruit there?

My time on this earth is limited. My death may not be imminent, but it is inevitable. 100% probability. I plant. I plan. I hope to make memories and connections and reach out beyond myself. I plant trees even if I may never see them grown. Someone else can harvest their fruit if I am unable. I am just a traveler here, a visitor.

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine (the Lord’s); with me you are but aliens and tenants. Leviticus 25:23.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to live here, to plant these seeds, to feel the sun on my face and the sweat on my brow. What hope March holds. What hope faith provides. This day is wonderful, a gift. And that future, that future heavenly country? That will be even better.

I drop the seeds into the soil and lift my face to the sun.

Love in Christ, Betsy