Yesterday, as I planted the new strawberry patch, I reflected on how little I used to know about gardening, and how appropriate it is that Jesus used analogies of gardening to share the faith. What a sad thing that so many people miss out on these truths because we no longer are an agrarian society!

Our very first year planting a garden, I remember being totally unsure how to identify the weeds versus the plants when they were seedlings coming up, side-by-side. The seed packets didn’t show pictures of the seedlings, and I was concerned that in accidentally letting weeds grow up alongside my plants, I would damage my plants. I was frustrated that weeds wanted to grow in the same little furrow where I had planted my seeds.

It really didn’t take too long for me to catch on to which sprouts were which, and today, I can pretty quickly identify my seedlings based on leaf shape and color. Yes, corn is a grass and it looks like grass when it sprouts, but its blade is wide and bright. Carrots look like some weeds when they begin to sprout, but if you wait until they get their first true leaves a few days in, all doubts fade away. Peas are pale and rounded, and beans will often have part of the cotyledon or skin still on the leaves.

Anxiety over messing things up didn’t stop there. I was always worried about whether my seeds would sprout at all, realizing what an absurd amount of faith it seems to take to plant a garden for the first time (or fifth). I was also very concerned about planting too much and wasting seeds. We didn’t have a lot of money when we planted the first garden, and if all of our investment didn’t work out, it would feel like such a waste of money. Maybe if I saved my extra seeds, I wouldn’t have to spend money next time…

My fears about seeds sprouting was allayed when they did indeed sprout. I eventually learned that there is a rate of germination success and that some seeds have a longer life than others. A seed not planted is often a seed wasted, not the other way around.

How like our faith is gardening! Learning to identify seedlings is like learning to spot God at work in our lives. At first, it can be difficult to do. Was that an answer to prayer, or am I reading too much into it? Could God really want me to do that? If I make the mistake of believing that something came from God, and it didn’t, how will that harm me in the long run? What if I write off something that God is putting in my path as not from Him?

Eventually, we learn to read the signs, such as, “Gosh, I’ve been hearing a lot about that Bible passage recently, I should probably look it up and read the surrounding passages for context.” As we begin to recognize those signs, we can cultivate the work that God is doing in our lives. We know when it’s risky to pull the weeds and when it’s the right time, but we never just ignore the weeds.

Planting seeds is a huge leap of faith, but so it is with following God. The more we do it, the easier it gets, but there are times, like when we plant something new, that we maybe don’t feel we can just “trust the process.” “I’ve never grown this seed before. Will it germinate? Did I prepare the seed correctly? Did I prepare the soil correctly? What will it look like as it grows?” All those old fears of faith can creep back in. I approach the Eucharist with faith at each Mass, knowing that this is Christ, that this is a seed which grows every single time, and grows well if I’ve cultivated my heart. But stepping out to try something different for Christ can be harder. Finding a spiritual director, praying with a stranger, going to a retreat, introducing yourself to somebody new, giving somebody that compliment… Sometimes we fear because we are unsure what the fruit will be.

We also fear, because we do not know if the “seed” will sprout. We hesitate to “plant” because we don’t want to overwhelm somebody (or ourselves), because we don’t know how much space this seed, should it sprout, require. We don’t share our faith because we fear it will fall on deaf ears or hard hearts (rocky soil). We don’t share it because we’ve deemed that somebody isn’t the kind of person we want to share it with, which is probably one of the worst things we can do, because the Gospel is for EVERYONE! We don’t share our faith because we don’t want it to infringe on our time.

While I’ve shared my faith plenty before, there are multiple times I will never forget when I got beyond my fears and my selfishness and “planted the seed.” These moments changed me forever. It is easy to think that when we plant seeds of faith that it’s just for the other person. “That person doesn’t know Christ, therefore I must introduce Him.” But God is working in us in that moment just as much.

One exchange shook me to my core. I had a two-month-old baby at the time and was running on fumes. I desperately wanted some quiet time to get some sleep, but it clearly wasn’t in the cards. I ended up needing to interact with a total stranger, which I really, really did not want to do. I’m naturally introverted, so coupled with being tired, this was just about the worst scenario I could possibly envision for myself. Reluctantly, I went to interact with the person. They seemed off, and worst of all, wouldn’t stop talking. How could I politely say, “Sorry, I’ve got to go?” They started to tell me about what a difficult time they were having with something, and my heart began to soften (just a little), and I offered to pray for them. I nearly walked away. In fact, I began to walk away. But my heart was pierced for them in that moment, and I turned back and did something I had only done a few times before. I said, “Would you like me to pray with you right now?”

For the privacy of that person, I won’t go into details, but as I prayed a spontaneous prayer, I said, “And God, please let ____ know just how much you love them.” They began sobbing when I said that, and I just kept repeating, “You are loved. You are loved.” They so desperately needed those words, words God wanted them to hear, and that I almost didn’t give to them. I can’t imagine what would have happened had I not delivered that message. If I had let my selfishness take hold and prayed privately, or not even engaged at all. I haven’t seen that person since, and I don’t know where life has taken them, but they were given a life-giving message because I had faith and planted a seed.

Jesus shares the parable of the mustard seed, and how true that is! The size of the seed does not tell us how large the plant will become. We should not write off the tiny seed for being small and insignificant. Sometimes those have the largest seed-to-plant ratios! Those seeds can do great things.

There are other results of planting seeds. Sometimes the results are so unexpected or more fruitful than we could have ever imagined. The plants take on a life of their own. Some are so prolific, they almost spread like a weed, and we are left with a choice: How much do we keep? What do we tend to right now? Sometimes we don’t just plant seeds of faith, we outright transplant seedlings of faith, like when we teach our Catholic friend the importance of reconciliation or how to pray the rosary. Sometimes we have to say “no” to doing something good because it’s not what God is calling us to tend in the moment.

Even “weeds” and “wildflowers” can be planted intentionally. They serve a purpose and are beautiful and often far more beneficial than we realize. Plantain and nettle for healing, wild asters for feeding the bumble bee and beautifying my dining room table. Though we like to think of ourselves as being the ones planting all of the seeds, the truth is that many seeds plant themselves… in other words, God planted them for you.

The seeds of faith don’t all look the same. They don’t all grow the same. They don’t even all require the same growing conditions. Some won’t ever sprout. Some will take years to sprout. Others flourish right away. But they all have one thing in common: a seed not planted will never grow.

In Christ,
Danielle