Abundance of life

Summer is such a beautiful time of year when we get to see nature in full attire, seed sown in good soil, the fruitfulness of the earth. My images this week are from the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine, a wonderful place to spend a summer day, a place of great beauty and peace.

Jesus calls on us to let God’s word find a place in the soil of our life, to nurture it daily, and to experience the abundant harvest that is life in the Spirit.

Wandering the grounds of the botanical gardens with my camera, I found myself drawn to photograph the soft green forest, with the occasional surprise of a woodland troll around the bend of the trail. Back in the sun-drenched gardens, a riot of shapes and color called out to be explored.

The fruitfulness of the harvest is meant to be enjoyed and savored. Our life in Christ brings us a maturity and fruitfulness that leads us to enjoy and savor in gratitude all we have been given and to live our life as best we can in the spirit of Jesus’ life and teachings.

“Then [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:3-9)