“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ~ Margaret Atwood
In the Midwest, by the time spring gets here I am more than ready. I am ready to get my hands in the dirt and start planting something. We used to have a yard where we grew lots of vegetables every year – corn, beans, peas, radishes, lettuces, spinach, onions, okra and especially tomatoes. There is just nothing like the taste of a red, warm tomato right out of the garden! And it all starts with getting in “the dirt.”
I agree with Margaret Atwood, that there is a wonderful, rich, earthy smell when you’re digging in the dirt getting ready to plant something. But you know, getting in the dirt means getting dirty and sweaty and actively putting the seeds in their places. What seeds are you planting today? What dirt are you digging in? What is your harvest going to be? As I try to keep in my head all the time, “We reap what we sow.” That is an immutable, unwavering law of the universe. It’s always true — without exception.
So as we are at the beginning of this incredible season of the year, hopefully this weekend you can go to a garden store and get some dirt and some seeds. If you don’t have a yard, plant a pot full of lettuce or herbs or marigolds or whatever you want. If you can’t plant a garden, get a big pot and plant some flowers. It’s okay to buy some annuals already blooming if you want to, but there is something spiritual about putting a tiny little seed in a container of dirt and in the end, getting some fresh, bright, green growing thing.
That process still encourages me. It gives me hope. It reassures me that the right things I do now will bring a harvest of joy. So this Easter/Passover Weekend, let’s all take a trip to the garden center and get something to plant, and then let’s watch the miracle begin. Think about the miracles that are happening in your new life. Sometimes the most amazing things happen in the dirt where we can’t see them. So be patient! But keep watching. Expect the miracle. Expect life. Real life.
“Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others — ignoring God! — harvests a crop of weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8
