For years I have tried to grow cilantro. I have planted plants which have not survived being transplanted and then tried growing it from seeds. The efforts have been met with little success.
Last year toward the end of the summer, I noticed cilantro growing under the rose bushes. How did it get here? Perhaps we threw one of the dead plants in that direction at some point. This particular location is no where near the herb garden. I asked my husband and he could not offer an explanation. Then during the traditional family yard work day on Mother's Day, I discovered an abundance of cilantro right in the same place. The plants loom large and will provide enough cilantro for an abundance of dishes. How did this happen? Why is this location the perfect location? I am reminded of Jesus' parable of the sower in Matthew 13.
I don't exactly know how this revelation of the earth will shape my ministry as a whole but I do know that one of the discoveries I am making on my sabbatical is the deep desire to return to some level of retreat work. In the first ten years of my ministry, I frequently took groups on retreat. My time at Ghost Ranch reawakened in me the desire to go into the "wilderness" with people and so I will pursue getting a group together from St. John's and perhaps the larger diocese to do a Desert Mothers retreat at Ghost Ranch sometime in 2013, perhaps teaming with a male colleague who would do a Desert Fathers retreat. The landscape at Ghost Ranch provides its own spiritual awakening. I want so much for others to experience the power of this fierce landscape.
No comments:
Post a Comment