I go by a field where once
I cultivated a few poor crops.
It is now covered with young trees,
for the forest that belongs here
has come back and reclaimed its own.
And I think of all the effort
I have wasted and all the time,
and of how much joy I took
in that failed work and how much
it taught me. For in so failing
I learned something of my place,
something of myself, and now
I welcome back the trees.
Wendell Berry, excerpt from the poem “Leavings”
I heard this excerpt on NPR yesterday, and I can’t tell you how much it resonated with me after these few months of trying to have a community garden in a TOUGH season for anyone, let alone newbies. The crop wasn’t what we envisioned or expected, but our relationships deepened as we learned and continue to learn much about God and ourselves through the experience. That will never be a waste. Maturing, fruit-bearing people in the midst of struggling plants is always better than struggling people in the midst of maturing, fruit-bearing plants. I’ll take deepening relationships with people any day.
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