A Few Words from the Berry Patch...and then from me

Strawberry Patch
- by Linda Siebenga

My mother knew
about
strawberry patches.

She knew
that the weeds
grew better
and faster there.

She knew
about transplanting
on a cool rainy day
with boots
that weighed in
ten pounds heavier
on days like that--

and the never-ending watering.

But she also knew
about the gift
surprises--

the rewards
of successful
treasure hunting.

To find under
a mat of leaves
those big red nuggets.

And she knew
that you can't
get that close
to the ground
without kneeling.



I have been thinking about this poem a lot in the last number of days.
I'm not really sure why.
It has always been one of my favourites.
It was written by a good family friend of ours.
I found another poem of hers this evening while looking for this one online.
I'll share it another time.

Anyway, this one has been reminding me of what I learned from Levente when I was in Ozd.
He talked about humble and human both coming from the same Latin word:
humus - meaning "ground".
And how important it is that we recognize their interconnectedness.
Human - Humus - Humble.

It says much about who we were created and are called to be.

I talked with my kids about humility today.
We were reading Eph. 4 where it tells us to be "completely humble."
Not just " a little" humble.
Or "a lot" humble, as one of my students put it,
but rather "completely" humble.
What does that really look like?

Well, He became human.
His feet were covered in the dust of the ground
as He walked from Jerusalem to Nazareth
and His servitude brought Him to die for the unlovable.
Sounds pretty complete to me.

Maybe there's a reason that being "grounded" is a good thing.
(Not grounded like when you were late for curfew,
but grounded like evidence that's based on something.)
It keeps us humble.
And keeps us bruising our knees
kneeling to give thanks
asking for guidance
and knowing that weeding, transplanting, and watering are part of the process.

Her mother knew more than strawberry patches.
She also had the "dirt"
on living humbly
before the face of God.