On March 19, I was sitting at my computer (hopefully not on Amazon.com), when the UPS truck backed into my driveway. I cringe with embarrassment when that happens, thinking the neighbors must be watching to see if the whole truckload is for us. The driver has actually backed in so he can turn around and head back up our street.
My flower and herb seeds and planting supplies have arrived!
I wasn’t so eager as to dig right into the planting project and my days have been full lately despite cancelled activities and closed stores. But, wanting to have plants to take outdoors in mid May, I set up a potting station in my kitchen today. My back was grateful for the counter height as I filled ten dozen seed cups with soil and then carefully inserted seeds.
I had learned that I might not be able to buy the snapdragon plants that I love to put by our backyard deck anymore, so it seemed good to start my own. Before I knew it, visions of marigolds, lantana, and snapdragons, tomatoes and thyme, basil, parsley and peppermint danced in my head.
Some seeds were so small and impossible to see in the soil.
I think the plants would do very well here by the kitchen window, but we need this counter space. The sewing machine is still on the desk for face mask making, so that’s not an option. How about Dave’s home office with a view? There’s not much space between the TV trays and our table, but it will be enough. Once our weather stabilizes (we had a snow shower yesterday), I’m hoping to move them to the deck, at least for the afternoons.
I’ve scooped the soil in, added the seeds, sprinkled with water, and topped with domes. Now we wait, hoping that life will spring forth from dead seeds. That seems fitting on this day between Good Friday and Easter. As Jesus was nearing Calvary, he taught his disciples that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
I’m hopeful that my seeds will sprout and grow and bless us with beauty and fruitfulness. When Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb, his disciples were overcome by grief and fear. They had not wanted to believe that he must die and were unable to understand his saying that he would rise again. That day between death and resurrection held agony, not hope. They had seen his body broken and his blood poured out, as he said would happen during the last supper.
But Jesus did rise. In time, they all saw and believed that he was alive and had fulfilled what was told about him by the prophets of old. Tomorrow morning, we will awaken to celebrate his resurrection, as the world has done for over 2,000 years. And one day, Jesus will return. Exactly how and when is still a mystery to us. What a glorious day that will be for those who are awaiting his coming.
Again he (Jesus) said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32