Springs: verb and noun

A seed.
Water.
Sun.
Photosynthesis.

A fruit.
Small.
Juicy.
Nutritious.

A cycle.


This time last year I had realized and fit into my role in abbey life: “preparing for a planting." Working new soil, taking the time to cultivate growth, learning about myself, dreaming of what might come to be.

What I was part of helping cultivate has come to “fruition.” I was merely a share cropper on another’s land, deepening my ethic and ethos. I quickly came to love the land and those within it. Now that spring has come, the oaks multiply. The grove grows.

The second full season is about to begin. This year’s garden is twice as big as last year’s. This year’s lent matured to an abbey quadruple over last year’s single. We love both. We remember the past fondly, the present we try to understand, and the future we can’t even comprehend.

So now what? The second season of Oak Grove brings fresh challenges and new possibilities. As a fruit of the Grove, Oak Springs brings a seed. A small, juicy, nutritious seed.

from Is 61,
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.