Improbably,
the wind-blown seed found its way here,
to a long, beautiful stretch of land,
but one that was hot, dry, and arid.
A spark of life
resting
in an unprepared desert.
Quenching, life-giving sustenance,
the rain,
comes and goes,
even if infrequently,
sometimes only
a few drops at a time,
and the seed begins to take root:
possibility brought alive.
But, what life is this
Amidst the harshness?
Pocket mice, rattlesnakes, camel spiders.
Danger and inhospitality
lurking everywhere.
One chance encounter,
gone wrong,
could bring death to the seedling.
And yet somehow
the intrinsic
invitation
to thrive,
to flourish and grow,
finds a way,
even when it is a struggle.
Poking gently up from
the cracked,
parched desert earth,
a beautiful pink,
five petaled
phacelia blooms
spectacularly.
Improbably.
We are those
wind-blown seeds;
the universe’s longing for life,
for thriving,
for beauty—
even when it is
against the odds.
— from Seeds of a New Way: Nurturing Authentic and Diverse Religious Leadership, edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Nancy McDonald Ladd, Skinner House Books, 2024.