Life is Like a Garden
Author: Dale Dodrill
I am a member of Keezletown UMC and became a Lay Speaker in 1973. The first few times, Wade Huffman, a member of our church and seasoned Lay Servant, went with me and served as the Worship Leader. What a blessing this was for me.
One spring Sunday morning, I traveled alone to lead the Worship Service at Sangerville UMC (now closed) near Bridgewater, Virginia. Following the service, a woman asked if I would visit a church member who had been in the hospital for several days. When you do, “tell her that her garden is looking good.”
On my way home, I stopped to deliver the message. She responded by asking me to read that scripture verse, where it says, “if you give, you get.” I was a true rookie with only a pocket copy of the New Testament. As she talked, I began looking for that verse by starting in Matthew. She had lived in the community for several years and she shared about her family, friends and garden. Sharing the vegetables from her garden with others, had been a real joy.
She said, life is like a garden, what seeds you plant, determines what you expect to harvest. I have tried to be a good neighbor and now I am being rewarded by the acts of kindness from others. Finally, I found this verse in Luke 6:38 LB, and read it. “For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give-large or small- will be used to measure what is given back to you.” She said, “that’s it.”
That day, I learned that life is truly like a garden. The seeds of love and kindness that one sows and cultivates today, will make a positive difference in our lives and community. Just like a vegetable garden, we sow and God gives the harvest.
What seeds of love are you sowing, today?
About the Author:
My wife and I have been married for 59 years. We are blessed with two sons, a daughter-in-law, and two Granddaughters. I am a retired educator who, for 30 years, served as a teacher, high school vice-principal and middle school principal. For 7 years, I served as the Harrisonburg District Director of Lay Servants Ministry. I am currently serving on the District Committee on Ordained Ministry. We live in Bridgewater, VA, and spend some time at the home place in WV.
