Barb and the Beanstalk

Do you have any favorites among your extended family? I do. I'm not one for naming names. Too many people get hurt feelings if they aren't in the top five. But, I'll let you in on my secret. I like Barb. She is sweetness and goodness and kindness - all those things I want to be. But it all comes so easily for her - or at least, she makes it look like it does.

A few months back, we celebrated her oldest son's First Communion. In the middle of all the planning and running and fixing and cleaning, she found time to set aside a little gift for us.

My husband John is the godfather. He got a garden stone with little glass marbles that form a rosary.

I got a few seeds. Purple Hyacinth Ornamental Beans. Just a handful - and a note.

Soak these until they sprout.

Plant these until they peek out of the soil.

Replant these outside.

And wait.

I followed her instructions. And I enjoy looking at these beautiful climbing plants with their purple flowers.

Barb's seeds. Seeds that came from last year's plants. Carefully harvested seeds. Given with love. Grown with patience.

And if you follow my blog, you know where I'm going with this.

It's all about the journey of faith. Our journeys overlap. The goodness of God gets passed back and forth by the faithful, to others in the Family, to others outside the Family. And the love of God becomes seeds that fall. Many seeds. Scattered far and wide. And some take root. And some grow strong. And some make it all the way to harvest time, and provide the seeds for next year.

Seeds. Given freely. A handful here, a handful there.
I received Barb's seeds. Next year, if I follow Barb's lead, I will give seeds to someone else. Denise's seeds. And on and on.

Like the saints, whose lives bore fruit, and we are the harvest. You and I - we are the seeds.

Let your faith take root and yield a beautiful harvest - and give the faith to another.

Barb and the Beanstalk