My neighbors are not happy with my yard. Just over my property line on two sides of my yard are well-landscaped and cared-for lawns and ornamental plants.  My yard is an experiment in the natural selection of non-native species, including weeds and other introduced plants.  My neighbors are polite but occasionally make a few comments.

 

“Your bushes could use some trimming.”

 

“If I were you, I would whack all that wild stuff down.”

 

It isn’t that I don’t want to have a lush, vibrant lawn envied by any country club; I lack the time and don’t want to pay someone for something that I can do myself.

 

There is one very problematic area in the back corner of my lot.  It is a mix of rocks, dirt, and thistles.  It abuts next to one neighbor’s hammock and another’s deck.  I try to knock down the weeds as they grow, but they usually get away from me.

 

This year was different. My wife was outside when one neighbor said, “I sure like what you have done with that awful patch of weeds in your backyard.”

 

We hadn’t done anything. Well, except last year’s pumpkins from the previous Halloween back there.

 

We checked the area and found there was a lush pumpkin patch with six or seven large pumpkins growing.  Our neighbors began to give us updates on the rate at which each pumpkin was ripening, and they were fascinated by its growth.

 

I still find it miraculous that tossing a pumpkin into a rocky, weedy area resulted in such growth.

 

Jesus tells of a farmer (Mark 4) who scattered seeds in different areas (path, rocks, thorns, good soil) and most did not result in a harvest.  He added that “the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest…” 

 

Not all seeds find good soil, germinate, and grow to maturity.  It only took one seed from my Halloween pumpkin to make such a big difference. 

 

May God bless us this Thanksgiving with hearts of good soil so we too can make a difference.

 

Happy Thanksgiving,

John Thornburg