Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Thinning Carrots



Last year I never made time to thin our carrots.

It’s tedious, careful work on hands and knees.

When I see the rows of tiny leafy greens, nestled together

I balk at removing so many healthy ones.

Yet all winter long as I use the crooked, puny carrots that grow in unthinned rows,

I am reminded day by day to take time to thin this year’s carrots.


Summer is here. The morning is cool.

I kneel and thin the carrots--carefully leaving space for each to grow.

I hardly dare to look back where I have been.

Even the ones left standing aren’t really standing.

They lean and droop, unused to holding themselves erect.

But I have learned that in not many days,

When I return to check on them,

If they are in soil that’s rich and damp,

They will again be reaching for the sun.


When our children have left family, leaders, friends--

All the things that have kept them nestled close--

I’ve learned that they too may lean and droop a while.

But each time I trust that if we have loved and taught them well,

It won’t be long before we can tell that

They are standing tall again--

Because they, too, are reaching for The Son.



by Karen Christensen Luthy



No comments:

Post a Comment