The Garden

The Garden

by Patricia A Pitterle

Spring came

And the small, empty plot of ground

Lay waiting to be tilled and planted.

Our family

Planted row after row

Of garden vegetables

Hoping for a harvest in the fall.

We started off with much enthusiasm

And diligently tended

To the never ending tasks

Of watering and weeding.

As the season continued,

We slowly neglected our duties one by one,

And allowed the garden to become 

Unkempt and forgotten.

When the time for the harvest had come

We found, to our disappointment

That the only thing to grow throughout the weeds

Were radishes, too hot to eat.

Our lives are much like this tiny garden.

We come to earth, needing to be filled with good fruits.

We till and plant, row by row, the things of eternity.

The more care and nurturing

We give our budding testimonies,

The more abundantly they grow.

However, Satan too,

Has been busy sowing

The seeds of worldly weeds

Around our carefully cultivated seedlings.

If we neglect our duties

To our spiritual growth

We shall find the weeds of wickedness and evil

Growing up around us.

And we will surely reap disappointment

Because we did not continue with faith

And endure to the harvest.

By the fruits of our labors

shall He truly know us.

And so I often remember

The lesson of radishes and weeds.