When Blessings Come Down, When Prayers Go Up, It is easy to fill joy.
When Sorrows Surround Us, When Prayers Go Up, It is tough to feel joy.
Yesterday, while waiting for a sandwich at frozen custard stand I read in a local community newspaper that a young girl I knew, when she was in middle school and I was the youth minister at her church and school, was leaving for a mission trip in Belize. It was a similar mission trip that I had helped high school youth make when I was working at the parish. Now she is becoming a senior in high school and is taking the mission trip. This young girl’s mother and father used to help chaperone the middle school dances we had at the time at the parish. I called her home this morning and her mother said she had just left this morning. Before she left, her mother said, she had mentioned that now she was taking a mission trip that she had saw me help other youth to do when she was middle school. By some type of three way hook up I was able to talk with the youth’s dad who was at work. I remembered him reading seed catalogs when he was championing youth events. So I told him that now I was into gardening, something it had been doing for many years. I mentioned this youth and parents because they have been through some tough times but always managed to stay joyful and caring to their daughter. Also I like to think that I, in a very small way influenced this youth by my care
When roots come down, when plants grow up, it is easy to find beauty.
When drought comes, when the plant struggles, it is tough to find beauty.
I have noticed that with almost daily care of the garden, when it rains or does not rain, when the sun is out or it is cloudy, the plants, be they vegetable or flowers, continue to grow. Without the constant care, some would be okay and some would not. With care more plants will do better. Care and concern matter at all times, times of sorrow, blessing, joy or struggle.
The symbol on the right is a version of the St. Vincent De Paul Society’s logo, a group of persons that non-judgmentally serve people in need.
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