I was picking green beans along my chicken wire trellis today when right in the middle and top of it there was this large cucumber hanging down. There were no other cucumbers on any of the vines. I do grow cucumbers in the boxes of my vertical growers but do not remember putting any cucumber seeds along the ground of the long trellis. But maybe I did or maybe just like the pokeweed in the rain garden it was what is called a volunteer, a plant that grows on its own and is not planted by humans.

A good friend from Chicago called today. He is struggling to survive in a big expensive city on part time jobs. He is really a good person and helps out in his community. Today he told me he is volunteering at non-profit agency where he really enjoys the work. He is hoping that this volunteer work will take root and he will be hired by the agency.

When I was the Director of Religious Education and Youth Minister at churches a good part of my job was recruiting and maintaining adult volunteers for the programs. I was blessed with a lot of volunteers. However, I did not like to call them volunteers but youth ministers or religious education teachers since their job, like mine but without pay, was to minister to the youth. Ministering to others I believe is an obligation of our baptism into the church, something we need to do. The word volunteer to me suggested something over and above what is expected of a person.

Now that I am retired from active employment some would call things like my driving ministry or visits to persons in need as a member of St. Vincent De Paul Society volunteer work. I just consider it my work.

A seed blowing in the wind, the weed that falls on fertile ground and becomes a plant can be called a volunteer plant or weed. I prefer to simply call it a plant or weed. Nature knows no volunteers.

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