Good Soil and Solid Ground

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:1-9

We got off the plane this afternoon after an overnight delay in Chicago coming back from our annual Native leadership gathering in Albuquerque. It felt extraordinary to step off the plane and finally be at home. I thought about kissing the ground, I thought about what it means to be on solid ground and on good soil. It is not always the climate nor the richness but the combination of the two. I was glad to be home and there were others to receive me. Love is good soil and a life lived with constancy, compassion and a sense of humor is always solid ground.

The gospel speaks of Jesus telling stories to explain things. This story is about seed and ground, about the need for good seed and solid ground. A place where the nurture is as important as the capacity, where beauty is not superficial but deep and abiding. Homes are places where love can grow when nurture and dependability are there and when laughter bubbles out like summer rain.

Today, I want to give thanks for solid ground, for home, and family and an abundance of beauty and laughter. I am so grateful for God's love in my life made evident through those around me. I am so glad to be home.