sprouting hope

Sowing seeds gives me so much hope. I love knowing the family plants are from by the similarity of their seeds. I get excited carefully putting one or two seeds into fingertip sized holes in potting mix and gently covering them with soil. Each day I water the soil and wait for signs of growth.

I've yet to lose the delight and surprise that comes when I see the small green shoots poke up from the soil: this seems like a miracle every time. From a dormant remnant of the old plant a whole new plant grows. From little near throwaways, nourishing plants grow from which we gain sustenance. Not quite a "something from nothing" story, but close.

In my own recent journey, the seed of hope was singular and relatively small. But it was planted in the ground and nourished by community, by past experiences with God, by Scriptures that had embedded themselves in me long ago, by being in creation, by good friends lending me their faith, by holding onto hope itself.

And now little green shoots pop up from the ground. Indications of new life and new hope.