When we were planning our house, I told my architect-husband I wanted a big garden. He cut our lot in half, positioned our house on one side and left the rest for the garden.
Our garden is big enough for several fruit trees. Which we have. We have a mango tree that has grown quite huge. It is the landmark for guests & delivery boys looking for our house. We also have a duhat tree. Out back there’s chico, balimbing (star fruit), kamias and kalamansi (native lemon). We even had an atis (sweet sop) tree that loyally bore fruits with thick, creamy pulp until it got diseased and died.
In summer, we have so much fruits my family can’t eat them all. My boys don’t even like eating them anymore. I sometimes force feed my twentysomething sons just to make them taste our garden produce. They must have had too much (the mango especially) when they were small they want no more. I remember their shirts turning yellow because they were sweating out mango from eating fresh mango, mango ice box cake, mango tart, mango ice candy and drinking mango juice. Now, they’d rather eat store bought fruits.
When the fruits are in season, there’s a mad scramble to give them away to relatives, friends and even strangers. If we don’t share them, they end up rotten and cluttered in our garden.
Looking out to my garden this morning made me think that our life is a lot like owning a garden filled with fruit trees. When our eyes are open to the blessings, we pick the fruits, enjoy them and thank God for what He has given. We see the rare privilege that others don’t have and use what we are gifted with.
Other times we don’t see and appreciate the rich blessings around us. We’d rather pine for something else rather than be nourished with what we already have. Like manna that is abundant and free, the blessings that we have are sometimes taken for granted.
When the harvest is plentiful, we should not keep the treasures for ourselves. We have to share them with others who are not as lucky to have what we have. A blessing kept, like those fruits, will rot in our hearts.
We need to take care of our gifts. We have to nurture and nourish them so they will bear more fruit. Time has to be spent with God and our loved ones so relationships grow. Time has to be given to our work and our passions in life – for study and training so our craft improves. Otherwise, like that atis tree whose sweet fruit we can no longer eat, we lose a very precious gift.
It’s also nice to swap with friends who have other types of fruit trees in their house. We enjoy a variety. Like the people who serve in our community, we are all blessed with different talents and abilities. When we bring what we have to the table no matter how small, everyone enjoys a feast.
My life is a garden of blessings. In it are my three trees: time, talent and treasure. I have to nurture, share and appreciate them so my garden will grow, bloom and bear more fruit.
(Want to know how to make your garden of blessings grow? Learn the Secret of Big Returns at the Feast Alabang. Come to the Feast Alabang Center, 2nd Level, X-site entrance, Festival Mall, Alabang every Sunday. First session at 11:00 am after the 10:00 am mass. Second session at 3:00 pm before the 5:00 pm mass)
No comments:
Post a Comment