Potatoes

Yesterday I harvested my potatoes. I only have a small patch where I can grow vegetables where I now live, I used to have an enormous plot of vegetables. it therefore gave me even more pleasure to be able to harvest these. I was happily surprised to see just how many I managed to gather and they were looking so good the skins smooth and fresh. I could almost taste them. OK so it is only a crop of potatoes. But they also brought memories. 

When I was a boy growing up my father had two large vegetable plots where he grew a large variety of vegetables making us almost self sufficient in such produce. He also kept a number of neighbours going in fresh vegetables. 

I can still remember the potato planting days.   After my Dad had tilled the soil, we went to work. It was my job to drop the little seed potatoes in the rows along with handfuls of manure. My father  then covered them all with the freshly turned earth, and built the mounds in which the potatoes would grow.

For months afterward I would glance over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath the ground. When the harvest time came I was amazed at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil. Those little seedlings had grown into bushels and bushels of sweet sustenance. They would be turned into meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes.  They would keep the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It truly was a miracle to behold.

Thinking back on those special times makes me wonder how many other seeds I have planted in this life that have grown unseen in the hearts and minds of others.  How many times have those little seedlings to provided another’s soul with sweet sustenance?

Every single day of our lives we step out into the garden of this world. Every single day we plant seeds that can grow into something wonderful. We may never see the growth that comes from the kind words or loving acts we share but God does. I hope then that you always tend the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and compassion in the lives of everyone you meet. I hope that everyday you help miracles to grow.

Have a good day and go plant some seeds of hope into the lives of those around.