There is a story of a pastor who decided to hire a gardener for the poorly kept parish grounds. Year round the gardener worked diligently, preparing the soil, weeding, planting, pruning and nurturing the plants with great attention, until one fine day the pastor strolled out into the flowering garden with a neighboring priest, anxious to show off the magnificent new creation.
Gesturing to the many different plants and flowers, the pastor said, “I praise God for all of his handiwork!” Stepping out from behind a bush with clippers in his hand, the gardener chastised the pastor, saying, “Don’t you go giving all the credit to God! Just remember what this place looked like before I got here and God had it all to himself!”
At an educator’s conference, I used this story to stress the importance of the work Catholic educators do on God’s behalf, but today I realize the story has another lesson: You tell the world what, and who, you love by your attention.
Henry Miller wrote, “The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.”
Imagine the change in our lives if we gave that kind of attention to other people, especially the one’s we love.
Link for photo: http://www.flowers.vg/flowers/iris-blue-dark.htm
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