NO.7 Molly Lyles, 20. May 3, 2018.

“Every time I have an interaction with someone I always feel like I was blessed by that interaction. Even if it’s a small thing, something will happen or I’ll be doing something with someone and I’ll just be really thankful for that I got to do that thing with them. I think it’s really cool that we can eat together. I love the feeling of being able to sit and eat together. I like gardening with people. Being able to put my hands in the dirt and someone work right alongside me. Us being quiet and working together. Sometimes we speak, but it’s peaceful because we’re working in a garden and you have your hands in the same dirt and we’re tending to a plant or a bed. You don’t have to talk, you don’t feel like you need to talk, but it’s fine if you do. Usually the conversation is just whatever we’re thinking about. Plants are sacred. Tending to plants is a sacred thing. Tending to a farm, too. I like the characteristics of a plant. They’re not hurting anyone they’re just living, surviving. I like that they’re just being what they need to be. That was the beginning of my fascination with plants- how peaceful they always looked. The characteristics of nature and plants have kind of made me see God. I think nature shouts the characteristics of God in a way… and it can teach you a lot about God. You learn a lot about patience working with plants. The plants are going to grow, even if you don’t tend to them, they’re going to keep on going. They don't wait for you, they just keep on growing. There’s so many parables in the Bible that talk about gardening. We were laughing one time because there’s parables about a gardener and he sounds super wise, but all he’s doing is talking about gardening. But it sounds so prophetic and beautiful. Every time I garden I always think about parables and the seeds and soil that I’m working with. Agriculture was the thing that Jesus taught to bring people closer to God. It’s something tangible that we can see, so he brought it down to a level that we can understand.