Reaping What We Sow

It was the summer of 2019. 

Invitations for my summer 💐 garden party 🎉 had gone out weeks before. Friends were coming from far and wide to hang out, sample yummy food 🥪, sip lemonade 🍋 and share in light-hearted laughter and quality fellowship. It was an annual tradition; something we all looked forward to.

The problem was– The house was on the market and, unbeknown to the invited guests, we had just received a solid contract. The buyer had asked for immediate possession, so we had already packed most everything we owned.

I wasn’t even going to have furniture for anyone to sit on! I looked around my empty living room and let out a big sigh. Who invites people to their home when they don’t even have chairs for them to sit in?! The prospect of being thought of as a bad hostess was admittedly uncomfortable, but I decided to open the doors of our home anyway. After all, it was about the fellowship, not the stuff, right??!  It was time to loosen up & practice what I’d preached.

And they came. From miles and miles and miles away, they came. Each brought the customary “entrance fee”— plant babies from her garden to share with the other guests as parting gifts. Every lady brought something to contribute to the plant exchange and each left with a sprig of something different. We were eagerly sharing what we had with one another. The plants we exchanged would grow in our own little gardens and be a faithful reminder of the sweet times of fellowship we had all shared together. We referred to the plants we shared as founding members of our “Friendship Gardens”. We all had a delightful time that afternoon!

Most of the guests had already taken their party favors and said their goodbyes, but one lady offered to stay a bit and help me clean up. As we were chatting, she asked me if it was going to be hard to leave the garden and all of my beautiful flowers after pouring so much time and energy into them.

I paused and allowed a sigh to escape my lips. “Yes… Leaving is always hard,” I said. “The thing I will miss the most are my climbing roses 🌹 They are an antique and very prolific variety that smell sweeter than anything I’ve ever smelled. Yes, I will miss them terribly”.

And that’s when she asked if she could dig up a few shoots from the base of the bigger bushes. I gave her my blessing and she tenderly dug up a few of the babies, wrapped them in a wet paper towel, hugged me and wished me well on my new adventure. It was a bittersweet moment. I was glad she would be blessed by them, but it was admittedly hard to see them go.

Fast forward 6 long years. Another house, in another state, is once again on the market. I have found myself wandering through another beautiful flower garden that will eventually be left behind for someone else to enjoy. I’m usually a very upbeat person, but I must admit … Today– I was tired. Physically tired. Emotionally tired. Spiritually tired. Tired of moving. Tired of investing … Tired of pulling up roots and most of all, tired of losing the things I’ve invested so much of my heart in.

And then it happened. My phone buzzed. It was a text from that precious friend. Totally out of the blue, she had chosen today to send me pictures of the tiny little rose sprigs she’d dug out of my garden so many years ago. They are HUGE now and filled with hundreds upon hundreds of the most incredibly gorgeous blooms!!

It’s been a long time since that day when she asked to dig them up. The twinge of sadness has long since lifted. I smiled as I read her text and told myself how happy I was that she had asked to take them. She was a worthy recipient, for sure.

But then, I got to the last couple of sentences in her message. A smile crossed my face. She wasn’t texting to brag on her green thumb. She wanted me to know that those babies have had babies… And she’s dug up a couple for me, so that I will have something to plant in my new garden after this next move is behind me. She told me that had always been her plan—she was just waiting for them to grow and for me to get settled!

I was flabbergasted!! Oh how it lightened my heart! The roses? Well I guess in time, they could have been replaced. But roses dug up by a thoughtful friend who fostered them and showered them with love for years? WOW! Talk about ‘holding space’ for a friend! I can’t fathom a more meaningful gift.

Suddenly, something hit me. We can’t out give God. What we give away, finds its way back to us– oftentimes with interest. He knows what’s important to us. He knows our needs, our desires, our wildest hopes and dreams. Nothing is too big— or too small— to go unnoticed. We truly do reap what we sow. Today, I’m grateful I’ve sown both friendship and roses!

Until Next Time,