We are in planting season right now. Planting corn. Planting soy beans. Planting seed corn, and sorghum. Some are planted and some are seeded. Then there are the gardens, where things are planted according to the moon and frost probability. Some plant potatoes around here on Good Friday. Tomato plants are started in people’s basements and green houses, then transplanted when its safe from frost.
I have very little knowledge of the mechanics of planting. My farmer friends talk about planting by GPS, so you can actually pre-prepare the row of soil in the winter, then in the spring place that seed at just the right depth with just the right amount of fertilizer/weed repellant sprayed in there. All guided by the satellite that guarantees everything is lined up.
I am more into the philosophical aspects of planting. It takes a lot of guts to risk sticking that seed in the ground. It is an act of hope. Hope has to do with an unknowable future. If you know how the future’s going to turn out, there is no hope involved. Hope is planted in a bed of uncertainty.
You just don’t know if all the right rain and sunshine are going to happen at all the right times to produce fruit 60, 80 or 90 days from now. You prepare your soil, then you plant your seed, then you live into the hope that everything is going to turn out O.K.
You can also hope for another. Hope can be a part of the glue of a relationship. We can hope for good things to happen to our friends and loved ones. There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the more you hope, the better you get at it. I also don’t think that there is a limited amount of hope out there. We don’t have to be stingy with our hoping. My experience is that hope expands my view; opens up the pores of my soul to unforeseen possibilities. Prayer is an act of hope. It is a seed planted in our relationship with God.
Hope is very close to faith. Faith has to do with trust. We trust that God wants the best for us. We trust that God is always with us, no matter what. Seeds of faith can be planted with hope. We hope that our future relationship with God can be trusted to be as good as or better than what it is now. I wonder of the GPS could be helpful with that?
Grace & Peace,
Rev. Kelly
