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Tilling Between the Rows
Many of life’s best lessons can be found all around us; all one has to do is learn to “listen” with his soul and “see” with his heart. Recently I was working in my garden, tilling the rows between the furrows. It is actually a very mundane, non-skilled task. The greatest challenge is to keep the tiller in the proper track and not let it get into the furrow where the tender emerging plants are rooting and growing, some of which have just recently peeked their heads out of their soft beds and into the inviting warmth of the sun.
As I performed the simple task, a question eased its way into my thoughts: why am I plowing the rows? There are no plants here. The real actors in my garden scene are safely tucked away in their mounds just a few inches out of the reach of my tiller. I have heard when I was younger that tilling the rows does two important things in the garden: it removes the weeds that have tried to steal into my little Shangri-La and squat on soil that they have no right to occupy. And secondly, breaking up the soil between the furrows helps the ground to retain water. It was the second purpose that began to occupy my thoughts. So how does plowing the ground that the plants will never actually use do anything for my little ones safely tucked away in their beds a few inches away? And then it dawned on me. Breaking up the soil makes it soft and powdery so that when it rains, the water will not run off but will be able to soak into the dirt. Tilling the soil breaks up the hard, stuck-together clods of dirt so that they can drink in the water and capture the precious moisture it brings. Once the moisture is in the soil, it will leach into the surrounding furrows and water the real object of my labors, my tomatoes, peppers, squash, and peas.
It all now seemed to make sense. But my mind was not finished and began to wander again. I remembered that not too long ago I had plowed this same ground. Several weeks ago, it was soft and powdery and would easily flow between my fingers. So what happened? How did my soil lose its softness? Meditating on this, I realized that “life happened.” Over the last several weeks I have walked on the rows along with my dog, birds, lizards, and every other creature that calls my little plot home. The sun has also borne down on the rows and dried them out. And the rains have also compacted the soil with their rhythmic patter. Life happened.
Then my thoughts began to reflect on how much all of this is like life, not just plant life, but my life. Almost without us really noticing it, life has a way of hardening our hearts. Pressures at work, challenges at home, relationships, missed goals, personal failure—we all have them. They compact us, harden us, knock the life-giving moisture right out of us. Life happens. An interesting irony is that the life brings us the very things that we need to grow. The sun dries the ground but gives nourishment to the plants. The rain compresses the soil but is as necessary to these plants as air is to us. The solution is not to get away from the things that make us dry because they are the very things that bring us nourishment and make life meaningful.
So, what’s the answer? We must allow our hearts to be tilled, broken up and made supple again. The Parable of the Sower shows us that the Good Seed can only take root and flourish in soil that has been tilled and where the rocks and weeds have been removed. What are you doing to make your heart soft before our Lord? The Holy Spirit is like the tiller. He makes us soft and pliable, ready to receive moisture and life into ourselves. Are you making yourself available to His Touch? Do you find time to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament? Are you celebrating Mass with intention and expectation? Are you reading Sacred Scripture and letting it change you? Are you removing the rocks and weeds in your life through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Are you performing the corporal works of mercy out of love for our Lord and your fellow
man? Are you giving of your resources to the Church for the furtherance of the Gospel? Do you find regular time for prayer each day? Are you welcoming the poor and stranger in his Name?
Like a wise and good Gardener, God wants our lives to be fertile and productive, ready to receive his graces. “If today you are hearing His Voice, harden not your hearts” but make yourself available to his gentle hand. He will remove the dryness and hardness that so easily happens to us, and will make us ready and prepared for every good work and blessing. Sursum corda! Lift up your hearts!
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