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"Whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully." 2 Cor 9:6
Summer has come to Kansas City. Even at 7 a.m. the air is sultry. But what is hard on people is a boon to nature. Hot weather on top of recent rains has lawns and gardens exploding with new growth. Carrots and radishes, though small, are enough reward for Quinn and Emme, the children next door who planted a garden in our yard with my wife's supervision and encouragement. Stuff really does come out of the ground, and if you wash it you can eat it.
The laws of life are in motion, a hidden script that underwrites all of nature, including human behavior. Those who sow sparingly will reap a small, tight-fisted harvest, perhaps just enough for a quiet dinner for one. Those who sow generously reap an extravagant return, enough for a neighborhood feast. It all happens naturally, in exclusive, cultivated gardens and out in front of Holy Family Catholic Worker House on littered 31st Street, where morning glories and hollyhocks burst forth in delicate blues and fiery reds and purples along the trellis and fence until early autumn, when giant sunflowers will appear to stand their watch before winter puts them to sleep.
We are surrounded by wisdom, urging us to be generous, even foolish in what we give away, scattered gifts that disappear for a time, then come roaring back, enough for everyone, edible, fragrant, beautiful life.