Just the Beginning

This is the end

Buried in the ground

Surrounded by darkness

Lost and alone

But wait

A stirring

Deep within

A whisper of hope

Growing

Swelling

Bursting

Exploding

This is just the beginning

The inspiration for this piece came from my garden. As I was planting the first seeds of spring, I began reflecting on what that experience would be like for a seed. It must feel like the end, buried, alone in the darkness. But instead, new life begins to stir within, and that stirring grows and swells until the seed is ready to burst. What would that feel like? Perhaps like a wild hope rising within it, as C.S.Lewis has said. I think that experience would be very similar to what it must have been like for the disciples on that first Easter: Certain that it is the end, but then suddenly, beyond hope, the whisper that there may still be more to come.  A “burning heart” within them. And in our lives too we sometimes feel like that seed. We feel trapped, alone, buried, forgotten. But one day hope begins to whisper into our hearts, and suddenly our whole lives are transformed.