Little Patch of Ground

 

Sow for yourselves righteousness,

     reap steadfast love,

break up your fallow ground,

     for it is time

           to seek the LORD,

that He may come and

  rain righteousness

  upon you.

           Hosea 11. 12

(Righteousness means

what is good and right,

just, kind, merciful,

and for the welfare of others.

Scatter those seeds,

plant them,

sow them wherever we are

and on whatever

    patch of ground

God has given us

          to be faithful.

We reap in accordance

   with our kindness.

Fallow ground

   is not a wasteland,

but what has yet

         to be tilled

and yet to produce fruit.

Cultivate those impossible

    and barren places.

Seek God in this place

and watch

     the seedlings sprout.)

O LORD,

Help us to see

    our little patch of ground

with Your eyes,

not as what is unfruitful

but what is yet to be.

Empower us to be faithful

   in all that we do today,

even in what

   is not yet flourishing.

It is never just dirt.