I found myself in a garden
When I opened my eyes
Beautiful flowers being choked by weeds
Of so many beautiful lies.
Dandelions that could almost pass
For a genuine, innocent flower
Were sprouting rapidly through the garden
To my horror.
The flowers of faith were withering,
I could tell they hadn't had a gardener,
Though I had no expertise in gardening,
I knew I could at least give them water.
As Holy Water fell onto them--
Settling deep within the group--
Some of the color was renewed!
But the devilish dandelions grew taller all around.
Thinking only of saving the flowers,
I began pulling out the weeds.
As I worked, I kept track
Of all the garden's spiritual needs.
I watered,
I pulled,
I watered,
I pulled,
Finding more and more thorns as I went
And then I looked up, and the garden looked more like a field--
A field of flowers withering and
dandelions flourishing.
And I cried over it.
In the distance, I saw a child pick up a yellow covered lie,
"Look at this one mommy, isn't it pretty?"
I heard the child cry.
I ran over to him and gave him a rose,
"This is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
Look at how beautiful this one is!
The one you have not won't leave you satisfied!"
The child took it joyfully,
Holding the dandelion tightly in his other fist
I glanced again at the field--
Seemingly even bigger than before--
And prayed God would send laborers to help me finish this.
I set off watering the flowers
And tearing out the weeds
Working even more urgently than before.
"Please don't just stand there,"
I called to a passing family,
"Help me, or these flowers will die!"
But they simply thanked me for the work I was doing,
And joined the multitude of those passing the garden by.
Through teary eyes I saw in the distance
A man bent down, pulling out weeds.
I turned and saw an older woman
Watering rows of roses and violets,
And behind her, a young girl planting seeds.
More workers seemed to join
Throughout the passing hours.
Some were trained gardeners,
But most just helped out of love for the flowers.
I saw miracles take place
As troves of dandelions would disappear
The flowers bloomed beautifully
Now that they weren't being choked by deceit or worldly fear.
Alas, I had to return to my home
For the sun had begun to set--
Thinking the whole way of how many weeds there still were
In the biggest, most beautiful garden I have seen yet.
-Michaela
NT365 Gap Year/Hands On
Asia Pacific Rim