I’ve been busy tending things: worms, chicks, vegetables, friendships, flowers, kefir, fragile hearts. We’ve been busy building a greenhouse, a chicken coop, a chicken run, a tree house, a straw bale compost. I’ve been trying to destory an anthill that sits a foot away from my greenhouse. Naturally. With no success. And things have been blooming without any tending from me: junipers, irises, dandelions, weeds, mint. And other things are growing because of me, like the pile of laundry and ironing, messes in the kitchen, my kids.
After Lent’s focus on the brokenness of the world, it’s refreshing to see the cycle of life in growth, in flower, in birth, in restoration. But somehow, I’m still stuck in feeling the pain of a friend who has an unknown disease, of another who’s marriage is in the season of winter, of another who’s husband lost his job, of another who lost her child and her home within the same year. People are hurting out there; people are hurting right here, people I know and love. It drives me crazy when I hear of all the ‘ministries’ that have to close down because the tithing belt has cinched another notch. I think it’s a blessing in disguise. When God shuts one door, he always opens another, and if we use these creative minds God’s bestowed upon us, I bet we can get pretty creative in ‘ministering’ to others, those among us who are hurting. Without the money.
So, I’ve been tending to some broken hearts as well as the chickens and the vegetables in my garden. They just need some love and care, time to strengthen, time to grow, some weeding, a little sunshine and nourishment.
And yes, the vegetables and chicks need all that too.
