You take a little seed, plant it, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and nothing happens.
The second year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens.
The third year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens. How discouraging this becomes!
The fourth year you water it and fertilize it, and nothing happens. This is very frustrating.
The fifth year you continue to water and fertilize the seed and then… sometime during the year, the Chinese bamboo tree sprouts and grows 90 feet in six weeks.
Source [slightly adapted] Image by Michele Buzzi under the Creative Commons License
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{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
This feels like my prayer time…
Jaymee,
I hadn’t thought about it that way until you mentioned it. Very insightful of you!
Paul
Well this definitely sounds like my prayer time too but its been more than five years!!! What is that saying “PUSH – pray until something happens” Well I am hoping that my bamboo tree is a lot bigger than 90 feet after all my pushing!!!!!!
Simon,
I hope we’re around to witness it.
Paul
Perseverance, patience, hope & faith come to mind when I read this. I must admit that I lack these attributes at times. I really find it amazing that people have such patience to wait for a seed to grow into the harvest when it can take so long.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Lynda,
I agree. And I share your lack of those wonderful attributes.
Paul
“Perseverence,” with the cultivating, watering, patience, etc. – very appropriate for Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, aunt mothers, friend-mothers, women religious mothers…
God Bless you all, and thank you!
Bob
Bob,
As with Jaymee above, I didn’t make the connection to Mother’s Day. Well done.
Paul
I love this story, I keep telling my beautiful wife to hang in there, I am an ongoing work in progress. Have a great weekend everyone, make sure you take care of Mom this weekend.
Tim,
Reading your comment made me aware of just how much I miss my mother.
Paul
The first thing that popped into my head when I read this story is: In God’s Time
Susan,
Yes, indeed. Thankfully God is a lot more patient with us than we are with ourselves.
Paul
Sounds like the story of my ministry.
All things in God’s good time.
Maura,
I can well imagine that your ministry demands amazing amounts of patience. I am happy, however, that you get such astounding results at the end of it all.
Paul
This is so true. God’s time never seems to be our time. We gotta keep watering just like we gotta keep knocking. And then, when we least expect it, a miracle.
Ahhh…
Mike,
It is also true that, almost without exception, I have little time for God’s time. I want what I want now. Typing this, I’m realizing that I’m like a little kid throwing a tantrum!
Paul
Amen!
Fran,
My amen goes out to your amen.
Paul
Thank you for the hope I find in this wisdom story
Claire,
You’re most welcome. We all need hope.
Paul
First, fertilizing an ungerminated seed is a waste of fertilizer.
Second, I feel like an oak tree is a closer analogy. Sometimes, it grows fairly fast, while at other times, it stops growing entirely. Overall, growth is pretty slow. But it just keeps going, year after year, and if it lives long enough, it will become vast and tall. What’s more, it will support countless smaller beings, just by being what it is (oaks, at least here in the Midwest, support more animal species than any other genus of plant). Sometimes, I feel like a bamboo that springs up all of a sudden, but this never lasts, and my overall progress is much more oak-like.
Jim,
Very fond fo mighty oaks…like this analogy too. Thanks!
Annette
Jim,
Your knowledge of trees puts me to shame. I never knew that fertilizing an ungerminated seed was pointless. And, thanks to you, I will look at oaks with new eyes.
Paul
This is a good one, very encouraging. But as a gardener, it makes me hope that the person knew they were planting bamboo cause otherwise why would you be tending something that may not even be there?? Which makes me wonder, do we always know the seed we are planting? Is it a seed of charity, or a seed of judgement, etc? Maybe it is a seed so beyond our own expectation and only God could see that the soil was right for it. Good thing to be mindful about so that we don’t have to reap something we aren’t ready for down the road. Does that make sense?
Annette,
It not only makes sense, it is very wise.
Paul
I’ve been amazed at some of the zinnias I’ve sown, not knowing what sort of flower the seed would produce. Apple breeders can’t predict what kind of apples a seed will ultimately yield; I bet the U of MN breeders got a lot of unpleasant or mediocre results from crossing Macoun and Honeygold, but they also got the wonderful Honeycrisp. Famous wine grape varieties have originated, unbidden, as sports growing from the vines of other varieities (Pinot gris is thought to have arisen from Pinot noir this way).
So, literally speaking, we don’t always know what’s going to arise from the seed we plant. Metaphorically, that’s also true, so that makes for a good analogy.
I just want to add that, because we don’t always know what kind of seed we’re planting, we should expect that we will sometimes HAVE to reap something we aren’t ready for later on. When it happens, we should avoid either beating ourselves up for the bad consequences of our good intentions, on the one hand, or getting too caught up in the injustice of reaping something other than what we thought we were sowing, on the other. We can only apologize where we must and try to learn to better distinguish the weed seeds from the crop seeds for future reference.
I agree with Jim that growth and progress for us “mature” folks is oak like. But this is a great analogy for mothering — thank you. My kids seem to be growing nowhere fast — then all of a sudden, 90 ft in six weeks — or sometimes overnight. And I think, “Wow! Can’t believe how much she has matured!” And then the next day — well, the bamboo seems to have shriveled, and I’m back to faitful watering and fertilizing, remembering they’re in God’s hands and that in general, there is more progress than backsliding. (Jim, do oaks shrink in really bad years?
)
Denise,
As you say, “And then the next day…” As someone who must have given my mother (and father) many anxious thoughts, I would like to apologize to you on behalf of all of us who have not yet sufficiently matured.
Paul
Well, I guess they can shrink, in the sense that they lose more mass in dying limbs than they put on in growth. Actually, many oak species are adapted to survive prairie fires by resprouting from the root crown, so I guess you could say an oak can shrink right back to the ground, in a fire year!
An advantage of old age is being able tomlook back and know that growthbhas happened. When one is young the waiting seems endless. This, of course, is coupled with the need to embrace the fact that all the downward tendencies are still alive and well and that embracing this fact is good for humility.
Maria,
“When one is young the waiting seems endless.” How true. My childhood seemed to go by very slowly. Now entire years zoom by me!
Paul
I’m reflecting on all of the posts here this week and sadly, more than a little disenchanted
I think it has something to do with a Netflix Documentary, “Skid Row” put out by Pras Michel. I’m also wondering, Paul, were you living in Maryknoll at the same time that I was there? (on the “other side” of town) Would’ve been the years 2003-2004?? The dates are rather ambiguous. Time all runs together in those situations. Would you have put a penny in my cup? Sorry. It’s just all this talking of “prayer time” and “reflection” and “retreats” has me wondering if we “retreat” from the work at hand? What good is it to pray, to worship, to praise, if the only thing that’s accomplished by it all is more prayer, more worship, more idle praise? When is the time right to stop paying lip service to God and start doing what we’re commanded to do??? Anybody interested in seeing what is honestly going on in the good ole USA should, if they’re going to sit around watching Netflix, take a look at that one! That’s the truth about America.
What does it take to get people to worship with action?? My God Almighty, when are people going to get off their collective arses and do something???????? Oh, but, wait, “our children” have soccer practice and music lessons and computer camps and after school activities that they just can’t do without if their going to reach their full potential (whatever the hell that is). You want your children to reach their full potential??????? Take them to volunteer at a nursing home or a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen one afternoon a week. Then, they’ll reach their “full potential” as God intended.
God Bless Everyone! and Happy Mother’s Day! But, let’s not forget the mothers and the children who could use a penny in their cup! Instead of another scented soap or a hanging plant that’s going to die within a few weeks or months, why not honor all mothers?? How about putting together a few things that you have at home that you’re never going to use, those “re-gifts” and giving them to mothers and children in need??????? Hope this doesn’t offend anyone’s sensibilities, but, I just can’t help but notice how many “web sites” there are devoted to God and how few people I’ve seen at the shelter volunteering.
Happy Mother’s Day Emma.
I just need to say even at community clubs there are moms, dads and children who may need a penny in their cups. Penny for me can be taken literal or it can be love, care, encouragement, support.
Based on my own experience I would add the baseball diamond to the places you listed in your response.
We have to keep our minds, our hearts, and eyes open.
There are many places, and people to serve.
Some of my daughter’s greatest lessons about care and compassion and serving another was when she was on a baseball team.
One of my own experiences was -there was a little girl on her team who needed care and support.
I had her under my wing for 3 years. She was welcomed anytime at our apt. When it was baseball season I there for her. Cheered her, helped her with her anger, checked on her , reminded her of dates
Just this little care made a huge difference in her life. A few years ago I encountered her, I had no idea the impact I had on her life till she told me.
Blessings Emma,
I am with you one hundred percent Emma! I can’t get my head around the mentality that some acquaintances of mine have when they can walk past a beggar without putting anything in their cup and feel no guilt at all. I try not to judge it but I can’t understand it. Not only that some people I know think that the beggars should be hounded off the streets by the police (which is what they do in Switzerland.) I have mentioned this before – but I will mention it again – in an old parish of mine a beggar started to hang around outside the church before mass looking for money and a few weeks later a lecture from the pulpit followed about not giving money to the beggar for there are better ways of distributing aid. Well, that is as may be but we do not know what the needs of the beggar are. He may be wheat or lactose intolerant for all I know and the food at the food kitchen may not agree with him. Who knows? Not me. Anyway, I won’t go on. I could rant for hours on this subject. I am too simple a soul to look for complications. The message of the gospel is a simple one and for me anyway, failing miserably as I do, it is that if you can help those in need God is going to smile when He finally does see us at the pearly gates.
YAY!! A brother-in-arms!! I think some of this continues to be the lack of a human face. It’s seen as a “problem” and very, very few could look it in the eyes. If you have the means, take a look at the documentary. The contrast is obscene! The largest homeless population in the US exists 2 blocks from downtown LA under the lights of skyscrapers and multi-million dollar industry; and, only about 10 miles from million dollar, manicured estates perched on the coast. I referred to Maryknoll only because I thought some here might have a better point of reference, not to “pick on the Jesuits” (tho’ I think the Jesuits can pretty much hold their own against a 19 yo), but, the more I think of it, I don’t see why the Jesuits couldn’t let some of those people camp out on their grounds. Do you? ;o).
Another example of the condition of our country that burns me up is the plight of minor migrant workers. I was astonished to learn that the Child Labor Laws in this country do not apply to the agricultural industry. There are as best estimated 400,000 CHILDREN working as farm laborers in this country, as young as 8 and 10 yrs. old. These children work 10-14 hr. days during the harvest season, which lasts from May to November (which means, pulled out of school) exposed to extreme heat, pesticides, chemical fertilizers with no protection. They suffer from pesticide poisoning, heat exposure, dehydration. Frequently, they don’t even have access to a toilet. There was a bill pending to institute protections for them, to umbrella them in with existing Labor Laws protecting minors…………our “socially conscious” president had it pulled last month under pressure from the ag industry!! and…….to add frosting to the cake, there are no minimum wage guarantees or overtime regs. governing the ag industry. THIS is a country that points its finger overseas accusing other nations of human rights violations, while the whole time condoning its own children to be exploited……..legally! THIS is the system of government that we try to shove down the throats of other nations in the name of democracy??? Yeah. Right. And, these children ARE American Citizens!! There are very few citizens of this country who can claim that they or their ancestors were not immigrants or “anchor babies”. The problem is so huge and so hidden. Hidden by our government by way of “creating outside threats” and stirring the populace to a state of frenzied nationalism and protectionism.
This is something that I won’t let go of. This is something that no person, especially a mother or a father *should* let go of. It’s disgraceful and so very sad for these children
Thanks Emma, I will look the film out. It is a theme that is constant across the “developed” world and for all our claims to be living in developed, civilised, democracies, when the political system is so driven by vested interests, civilisation will always be held back. The way political parties are funded and thus influenced has to be changed. If big business wants its voice heard, then it can still be heard by setting up their own parties instead of hiding behind the mask of the others and pulling the strings. It is the only way such ridiculous laws as those you describe are going to be repealed quickly.
This story made me think of one of my favourite places here where I live (in Adelaide, South Australia), namely, our Zoo, where we have two Giant Pandas! The only pandas in the Southern hemisphere! They eat a phenomenal amount of bamboo each day, so it’s just as well it grows so fast. When I think about it, I’d say that “our” pandas are a sort of living wisdom story in themselves. They have a beautiful, natural-looking enclosure and most of the time they just sit there, eat or sleep, yet they bring so much joy to their human visitors. They are also part of an important, international conservation program, and of course pandas have become something of a symbol of conservation. So, although, as Emma says above, it’s important to put our faith into action, sometimes you can do a lot of good just by being yourself! Quite seriously, I have come to the conclusion that you CAN help to make it a better world just by how you go about your everyday life and how you interact with the people in your life.
I visualize myself, kneeling before the Lord, telling Him, “Lord Jesus, I lived a good life. I was nice to the people I knew, to my friends and family. I raised good children. I went to my job every day and paid my bills on time. I was an upstanding member of society. I prayed every day, I attended Mass regularly and supported my church. I did the Examen to find what your Will was for me in my life, and I discovered that I was to be nice to my immediate friends and family.”
Then, I hear Him say, “Emma, that’s not what I told you to do. Why do you think that? What I said was very simple and clear. I said, ‘Welcome strangers. Heal the sick. Feed the hungry. Care for widows and orphans. Shelter those in need.’”
I’m not saying, “don’t pray”, but, while we’re praying we should be moving….doing what we’re told to do. If we’re uncertain about our calling, we should pray in action. When we begin to move, God will guide us in the right direction and clear the path before us. But, He can’t move us where we’re to go, if we continue to just sit still and pray. I think that’s what that young man that you posted here a while back, Paul, was talking about when he said he was Christian, but not religious. I kind of agree with him. Being Christian means picking up the Cross and following our Lord’s Path. And, He never promised that it would be comfortable and middle class. And, He never said, just pray and tell everyone about me. He said, “pick up the Cross and follow Me. Do what I do.” We just don’t want to give up our comfortable lives, so we make excuses for ourselves. There’s no shortage of people who study God, talk about God, are willing to tell others about God, but when it comes to that part, “Take me. Everything I am is Yours. Do what You will with me.” They stop short and they cop-out, because to surrender one’s self to God, pretty much guarantees sufferring and surrender of that “comfort zone”, and we’re not willing to do that, so we say, “Ok God, I’ll give you just ‘this much’, that’s enough. But, not all, I’ll give you what I think is ‘enuff’” and that’s a cop-out. Because we won’t give all. We’re not willing to give up our families, friends, homes and comfortable existence. Cop out.
Emma, what I’m understanding here is that you are advocating being “contemplatives in action” which is really what St. Paul is saying when he says that we are to pray without ceasing and what Saint Ignatius encouraged us to do as well. When we help others, we are really in prayer as prayer is not just saying something we have memorized but, to me, prayer can be everything that we do if our motivation is to serve others as Jesus instructed in Matthew 25. We must also remember that we all have different gifts, so we serve our Lord in different ways.
Lynda, I agree with you to a point, but, I think too many want the gifts that they share to be unique, something that will draw attention to them, rather than to Christ. As long as someone has two good arms and legs, they need no special talent to serve food in a soup kitchen. If someone can read at an elementary level, they can read to children on cancer wards and burn units. And, with little more than a human touch, comfort the forgotten elderly in nursing homes. IMO, quite a few people wait to act because they want accolades and unless they’re performing heroically and with the attention and praise focused on them,they’d rather stay at home. There’s not a lot of praise in serving humbly. Whatever gifts we have, were given to us, not to hoard within our homes and families, but to share with others.
Rico, that is exactly what I meant by praying without ceasing as helping in a soup kitchen or a food bank or sitting quietly with a person who is ill are all forms of prayer as far as I’m concerned. It is the quiet work done by people who desire only to serve the Lord by looking after others; that is what Christ is calling us to do. I don’t think I communicated clearly what I really meant.
I wasn’t criticizing, only offerring my perspective. I know very well how much you’ve helped both Emma and myself and how active you are in service.
Rico, I didn’t take it as a criticism. I just wanted to clarify and I respect your perspective very much. Thanks for your kind words.
Emma,
Thank you for your outrage on behalf of all of those who have no voices. Unfortunately, many of us don’t need to watch a documentary since it is in our own communities. So we do what we can with our own limited resources, and we do pray that it is enough to bring comfort, or to let someone know that they matter. We can’t presume to know what anyone else does, nor can we presume to know what God is calling anyone to do, but we can all do better. Each of us; you, me, and everyone on this blog, only we know where we fail. Being called to do better is a good thing. Thanks for the reminder that complacency in the face of injustice is unacceptable. Go and hold your own special miracle and enjoy your first Mother’s day.
Lord, help us to understand the depth of your love and in turn share it with others.
Welcome Back Emma! Now I recognize the woman that I married!! Was beginning to think that you were *going soft* on me. Seriously tho Mia, don’t ever stop speaking out and if necessary raising your voice in outrage. Don’t concern yourself with offending anyone’s sensibilities. I doubt that anyone would take offense to what you’ve said, unless it touched their conscience in some way. You have an insider’s perspective that most don’t. It takes someone who’s been lost in the forest and has found and remembered the trails leading out, to lead others onto those paths. You have been given such a gift. But, remember, you know the way. Someone who doesn’t, may not be comfortable going into that environment and if they tried, might do more harm than good, getting lost themselves. We’re each called to serve according to the gifts that we’ve been given. “To those whom much is given, much is required”. So heartened that you’re on the way to recovery
Thank you for our beautiful son! I hope he can hold on tight!!!! Happy Mother’s Day!
WOW!!! Thank you so much for today
And, I should thank your parents………all 4 of them. They did all the work, I reaped the benefits! The only thing that could’ve made this more perfect, would have been for Mateo to be home with us. I felt so honored. Today I learned the difference between “praising” and “honoring”. I know now how right I was. ” Nothing could be better than spending your life with your best friend!”
Now, I think we should give Paul his blog back, don’t you????
