The Birthdays
Thinking back to my visit with him, I did much of the same with his wife of 65 years. I told them both I loved them. I prayed for them. I shared stories and memories with them. It felt the same and not enough. How do you share so much feeling? How do you tell them you are thankful for them? How do you communicate in their last moments what you wish you would have communicated more? It just wasn’t enough. The time felt shallow and incomplete.
More Plump Tomatoes
One such instance, I was pruning a beautiful heirloom tomato plant. It was a gift from a co-worker and was producing such lovely fruit. These tomatoes were large, delicious, and plump with a deep pink flesh lined with green veins. I started to notice that some tomatoes were growing larger and some were not. Greedily, the large tomatoes were taking all the nutrients. The plant was devoting all its energy to grow just a couple tomatoes while the other tomatoes were being neglected.