Trusting…
It takes time…
Friday finally arrives… twelve hours had passed since leaving in the morning for work… exhausted, I made a cup of dandelion, ginger root and tulsi tea, then settled in a chair by the fire pit…
Taking a few sips, I close my eyes, tip my head back, my body sighing as the cool breeze brushes my face… the warmth of the cup in my hands stirs me from my peaceful bliss… I take another sip, noticing movement to my left…
Slowly turning my head, I see “Alvin”… so I’ve named him… I smile, he is slowly coming around… it’s taken awhile, but he will now set on top of my boot and stuff his cheeks full of sunflower seeds… this night he was at the first stop before reaching the boot…
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks“ John Muir
As I watched the little guy stuffing his cheeks until he couldn’t possibly fit anymore, he turned and scampered towards his tunnel to stash his bounty…
Leaning back in the chair, tea finished I sat there musing about the chipmunk… it all began with a seed…
how curious, hesitant, yet trusting and endearing they are, exploring you at a distance, moving a bit closer, they start to partake of your food, then recognizing your voice come running back eager for more… soon he will eat from my hand…
Thoughtfully, watching him gleefully hopping towards the pit through the tall grass and clover… I couldn’t help but be reminded how my own approach to God began much in the same way many years ago…
"They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals." John Muir
Regular church attendance, it’s just what we did on Sundays… watching great grandma reading her Bible every morning… then talking? to God in her rose garden… I was curious…
Grandpa and I fishing… told me how he survived the Battan death march… how he couldn’t have done it without Jesus?… he gave a small Bible and a tract, told me to read it… I was hesitant…
A few buddies, bars and too many drinks later… a different invitation… to read, study, and “drink” from a different fountain… there was that name again… Jesus… I explored at a distance, then moving a bit closer…
Slowly, curiosity was replaced with hunger and knowing this Jesus became more important than the juice… I began to nibble on the offerings…
The darkness turned to light, the bottle was traded for a Bible, and the the Savior replaced the “sauce,”and dining at “His table became more desirable as I heard His voice and came running back for more…
Many years have passed, I recognize His voice and I continue to, “eat from His hand”… and I am satisfied…
It all began with a seed…
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
— 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
On this journey, One man planted a seed, others watered and God caused the growth… and He continues to water this “old garden”… for the “new season”…
Until next time my Savior, my Friend,
Raj