Farming

I never thought I would like farming.  I grew up in the country, but not FARM country.  We used to drive by some farms, though, on the way to the suburbs, where I have lived for the last twenty-seven years.  Even though I've been fully itinerant as a United Methodist minister, I've always secretly prayed I wouldn't get sent to farm country.
I may have to reconsider.
Our work team just back from farming in Jamaica.  We planted 144 avocado tress within two acres on a hillside by a school we support there.  I knew it would feel good to help the local agricultural students to learn the basics, and that it would feel good to help the school become more self-sustaining.  What caught me by surprise was how much I enjoyed digging in the soil. 
Others have told me how great it can be, including my wife, who, unlike me, enjoys her day off working in the garden.  I also remember another man once telling me, "Never trust anyone who isn't willing to put their hands in the dirt."  I thought he was rather eccentric.  Not so sure anymore.
It was pointed out to me that the first person created in Genesis lore (Adam) was a gardener.  "And the Lord put him in the garden to dress it and keep it."  And the Hebrews raised vegetables in Egypt. (cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic)
And when Jesus needed to talk with his Father, he sought the solitude of a garden. People who tell you to never trust a non-gardener, also say, "The most important growing which takes place in a garden is that of the gardener himself or herself." 
I know my wife will want me to join her out back this year again.  So far, I have resisted.  But, I might surprise her this spring.  And after I plant a few flowers and pull out the weeds, I might just sit there and have a little talk with the Master.