A Sapling in the Hearts of Men

[sue]

"The Word of God may be likened unto a sapling whose roots have been implanted in the hearts of men. It is incumbent upon you to foster its growth through the living waters of wisdom, of sanctified and holy words, so that its root may become firmly fixed and its branches may spread out as high as the heavens beyond."

I was meditating on these words from the Baha'i Writings this morning. I was also thinking of a friend who spent the weekend with us and as an unexpected and much appreciated service, he repotted all of my house plants. They were terribly root bound and so much in need of attention that I was totally amazed that they had survived as long as they had in view of my neglect. When he finished and I was marveling at how much better they were after his work he smiled and said, "I love to work with plants. When I do I feel their beauty and strength. It is really my pleasure that I could do this today."

The Word of God can not become root bound in our hearts but it certainly can suffer from lack of attention. What a wonderful service we are allowed to render by ministering to our own and others "saplings". We are blessed by being able to sometimes plant the seed of God's word in a heart, sometimes we get to water it through a small kindness, a moment of respect, a wise action or a sanctified word. Our reward is in the act itself. Like my friend, we can feel the joy and strength in the relationship that we have to the one we are hoping to foster growth in; but to an even greater extent I believe we, ourselves, are nourished by the relationship we are fostering with the Word of God. In the act of tending to the hearts of others the divine wisdom that we attempt to impart is being absorbed by our own hearts. I remember learning a Persian poem many years ago that said something to the effect that the hand which gives the rose retains its fragrance. It is one of those marvelous truths that by giving we get.

[Tamara]

Sue,

this gives me quite the visual, and since I am a visual learner it is very helpful in explaining the process.When you say that the Word of God can suffer from lack of attention,I understand that entirely.When life gets too stressful and I am doing too much about me ( focusing on work,making work happen,work,work,work!!) I have to stop in my tracks and think........Who gave me this opportunity "to" work and share with others this beautiful gift! I then focus my "work" on the 'Cause" and life seems to shift in a great way!


Tonight,I was on the phone with a mother who really wants her son to have opportunities that can nourish him artitsically.She comes up against some adversity because her son has OCD,Tourettes and Autism.I could here that she was used to adversity and was willing to try out the program that I offer and we would both see what happens.My experience with children that have particular needs in certain areas is very limited,but I think that by coming together and learning from one another and understanding how we all live in this world will make us better people and more open and be happy in diversity.

She was very happy and I know that the happiness comes from being able to give her son music,something that he loves!

And in this action, I am happier knowing that someone else in this world will be happy because they are going to be able to teach others about their world.

I think my heart as tended to in this case………

I always enjoy your posts,you speak from the heart and it touches mine,so quite possibly you are tending my sapling as well!

Peace~Tamara