Seeds and Sower

I have been both seed and the sower.

When I look back at my years, I feel deeply grateful for and humbled by all the blessings that have come into my life. It has been a long way from Angeles in Pampanga to San Jose in California. And every step of the way there have been blessings and fruits unimaginable. Sometimes, I muse that if I had tried a little bit more, I could have so much more. But then again, I have been totally flummoxed by all that had happened in my life to even wish for more. And to think, it all started with a tiny seed. I am thankful to the Sower who planted me.

As I come to the end of the tree of my life, I pray and hope that somehow my trunk will provide lumber for some floors or posts for a home or perhaps be the block from which will emerge a lovely sculpture; that my branches will serve as thatches for a roof that will provide shade and shelter to a family or perhaps serve as fuel to give heat and warmth or help prepare some food; that my leaves and my bark may become some potion to help heal and rejuvenate some tired bodies. I pray that my death be as meaningful as my life has been fruitful.

I am also a sower. I have sown many seeds in my time. I have seen the fruits of my physical seeds unto the second generation. And I am mightily pleased by and proud of what I see. I have also sown seeds in other ways. Through my words and deeds, I have sown seeds among family, friends, colleagues and the many people whose lives I have touched. I pray for my family that the seeds of good deeds and kind words I have shared with them with great devotion and love may live forever in their hearts. I pray that the seeds I have sown in the hearts of friends, whether wittingly or unwittingly, may have made some moments in their lives happier and more memorable or some burdens and problems more bearable. I pray that the seeds I had given to my students, colleagues, clients, customers, comrades, partners, and people who have crossed my path have fallen on rich soil and have borne fruits and yielded a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
~ Psalm 19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Hear the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Matthew 13:18-23