I heard this on a radio gardening show years ago. Dewey Compton was the friend of every farmer, gardener and landscaper in the Houston area. Last night I returned home from a meeting and had just enough light to go outside and pull some weeds in my neighbor's yard. They are out of town and I have been looking after their place. I was about finished when I heard a voice behind me. He called to me again and this time I turned and see a high school student walking toward me with earbuds, and MP3 player in tow. He asked what I was doing and wondered if he could help. "Sure," I said. (I had just gotten to the hard part- the crab grass.) He sat down and began to pull weeds. He said he was bored and was walking so he could pass the time. We dropped handles and bio stuff about our families.
The pile of pulled weeds was growing larger and the conversation was coming around to the future (he would graduate next year.) "Not good enough for big college but too good for community college," were his words. I asked him about church attendance and for the next few minutes we waded through some fast moving, but shallow water about God, religion, his beliefs and my testimony. The weeds were almost gone as was the light. My friend stood up and offered me a hand. We left the door open for future encounters in the yard and parted ways.
'One year's weeds, seven year's seeds." I pray that the seeds that were planted that night would produce a harvest- not of weeds, but of the soul. I am praying that as we all do work, that we will be tuned in to hearing when someone calls our name. Be ready at any hour of the day or night.
