The Lord doesn't ask about your ability,
            only your availability;
and, if you prove your dependability
            the Lord will increase your capability.

                                  - Unknown

aking some time off not too long ago, I immersed myself in one of my favorite activities - reading.  Not reading just anywhere though.  I was lounging in a nice warm bath, filled with bubbles up to my neck, the soft smell of citrus filling my senses, and a low-watt lamp nearby illuminating my book.  In time,

the warmth would overtake me and I would drift off into a very peaceful nap.  A bath-nap, actually.

I had just finished an article talking about the joy of love and how much richer our lives could be with more love in them.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, I thought, but the question that remained was how?  How do you make love grow in your life?

Suddenly, I was jolted awake, walking through a fabulous garden filled with a breathtaking assortment of  trees, plants, bushes, flowers, orchids, ponds and more.  A man was walking beside me and he said "this is how you make love grow."

I immediately recognized his voice as Sam, my guardian, guiding angel.  Sam had talked to me several times before, but I had never seen him and often wondered what he looked like.  But today, when I had the opportunity to look at him, I found I couldn't take my eyes off the beauty of the garden.

"How?" I asked as I cupped a delicate orchid in my hands and breathed in the soft aroma.

"Each one of these plants began as a seed" Sam answered.  With care and tenderness, the seeds grew, blossomed, and thrived into the beauty you see today."

"Thanks for the gardening lesson, my puzzling friend," I replied, "but what does that have to do with love."

"Everything" Sam replied.  "Love is just like a seed and God has given you a package of seeds to spread throughout the world.  A seed of love planted with kindness can blossom into something as wonderful as that orchid you're holding.  One day,  you will see a world as beautiful as this garden through the outpouring of love."

"Yea, but that's not this world, Sam.  I've planted some of these seeds of love around and what I've found is that too many people ignore the seeds.  They don't blossom into anything."

"Are you sure?"  Sam asked.  "The exotic Bird of Paradise plant often doesn't produce its first flower for several years, but then, some of the most beautiful flowers bloom year after year.  No one is able to ignore love.  You may never see the blooms or even knew that they bloomed, but is that any reason not to plant?  Look at that garden on your right."

I turned and saw over an acre of colorful wild flowers swaying together with butterflies dancing among them.  I listened and could hear the sound of the wind almost like a gentle flute serenading us.

"That field began with a handful of seeds," Sam said.  "Some were eaten by birds.  Some began to grow where the earth was shallow and dried up under the heat of the sun.  Some were choked by weeds.  But three of those seeds took root and produced three healthy plants.  They blossomed and produced seeds on their own which mother nature spread around.  The next season, more plants bloomed, the next season even more.

"The person who spread those first seeds did so out of love and moved on.  She had no idea it would grow to such beauty.  What she did know was that if she didn't plant any seeds, it was a sure thing they wouldn't grow."

"Sam, the way you talk, you make it sound like there's an infinite amount of love to go around."

"So true," Sam replied.  "So many people look at love like a pie.  They think that the only way they can get a bigger piece of the pie is by taking some pie away from others.  Not true.  Love is infinite and continues to grow with the more love given.  If you want more, give more.  If you see another seed of love planted, water it, nurture it.  And by all means, plant your seeds."

Sam disappeared in a blinding light but before he left I heard him say one more thing - "you're snoring." 

"What?"  I asked.

My wife had just turned on the overhead light in the bathroom and looked down at me with a twinkle of love in her eyes.  "You fell asleep, honey, and you're snoring.  Let's go work on our gardens."

A wonderful idea I thought.  Let's go work on our gardens.

                                                                                          -- Darril R. Gibson