I’ve been having great lunches this week: cucumbers and tomatoes picked fresh from our garden, drizzled with some Italian dressing and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. And I’ve been having fresh-picked blueberries in my morning cereal. Everything’s really starting to come in.

You adorn the year with your bounty; your paths drip with fruitful rain. The meadows of the wilderness also drip; the hills are robed with joy. – Psalms 65:12-13

And doesn’t it taste that much better when you’ve done the work? Sure, you can pick up some vegetables at the local supermarket, and they’re fresh enough. Or you can visit your local farmer’s market and buy something tasty directly from the farmer who grew it. But there’s something really special about enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of one’s own labor.

(A quick disclaimer here: My lovely wife does 85% of the work in the garden, but I help some!)
I find this metaphor in other aspects of my life. I enjoy something that much more when I’ve put in the work, as opposed to when it is done for me. The garage door opening quietly and dependably because I replaced the motor? I still get a thrill out of it, even though that was six months ago! The freshly-cut lawn? I still smile every time I come home and see it, and smell it when I get out of the car. And, perhaps most importantly, the special bond I have with people whom God has placed in my path, as I watch them grow in their faith. Even as they grow in their faith, I find myself growing in mine.

Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

This is what we are called to do: to tend God’s garden. Prepare the soil, sow the seed, water and tend, and watch as He miraculously turns it all into a bounty. This is the time for the hard work. And when the Great Harvest comes, won’t it be so much more special because we had a hand in it!

We pray:
O great Master of the Garden, we answer your call for workers in the field. We ask You to help us understand what it is that You want us to do. We pray for the perseverance to complete the task, even though the work is hard and the reward may not be immediate. We know that You reward Your workers generously, and that the harvest will in its time be plentiful and sweet. Here we are: send us! We ask this through Your Son, the very Grain of Wheat who died so that He could bear much fruit in us. AMEN

Jeff Fiducia, shared by a friend with his permission.