In my community building hours this week working in the
organic garden weeding, the CCDA Principle of reconciliation came alive to me.
There is something about working in nature that touches you deep in your core.
Maybe it has something to do with farming being the first occupation humanity
has ever known, or that we know that some tasty treats are going to come from
our hard work. But as I notice the dirt under my nails, smell the unmistakable
fragrance of tomato leave basking in the air, and feel the dirt mounds slip
into my shoes, I know I belong here. This is a place where we feel like a force
of able bodies working together to save those helpless tomato plants who depend
on us. Each tomato plant is overwhelmed by the surrounding weeds that rob and
choke them out of reaching their full potential. With each weed we uproot and cast
out from the rows, we get the feeling that we are bringing balance back to the
garden.
But it was only after reading the CCDA Principle section
about reconciliation that I made the connection that this weeding process is
just a metaphor of what we as a community offers to each other. We all have
hurting factors that are stunting our growth from our full potential, and we
long to reestablish the balance around us. But we alone are not able to
accomplish the reconciliation we so desperately need to move forward. Only
through being real with one another, opening up about our strengths and
struggles, and making an effort to understand can we fully come together. In
doing so we become the strong able body that is strong enough to uproot the
wrong and cultivate the good in one another. The more we support each other’s
growth of becoming the people God designed us to be, the more we are able to
thrive and spread unity among our community.
I cannot help but be amazed in how such a simple activity,
like gardening, has so much potential to teach us great life lessons.
Gardening is no longer a chore in my book.
Written by: Jannelle Aguirre
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